In Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products, LLC, No. 22-148, 599 U.S. ___ (2023), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a First Amendment “filter” was inapplicable to a claim of trademark infringement by Jack Daniel’s against a parody product, a dog chew toy marketed under the name “Bad Spaniels.” The main takeaway from the case is that parody and humor are not get-out-of-jail free cards when a product evokes someone else’s trademark. However, the narrow ruling in Jack Daniel’s leaves for a later day at least two important issues, as explained at the end of this article.
