Jack Daniel's sued a dog chew toy for trademark infringement. A judge just threw it out of court in a ruling that starts with ‘A man walks into a bar’

Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. has been fighting a spirited battle to keep Bad Spaniels — a VIP Products’ chew toy — off the shelves since 2014. That’s because the toy looks strikingly similar to the iconic whiskey, replacing “Old No. 7” with “Old No. 2 On Your Tennessee Carpet”, as well as stating it’s “43% Poo by Vol.” and “100% Smelly”.

Jack Daniel’s says it’s a clear case of trademark infringement and that it mashes the whiskey brand’s reputation by association with dog poo.

Judge Miland Smith Jr. agreed there was a lot to chew on, acknowledging the toy company’s parody of Jack Daniel’s right off the top in his opinion.

“A man walks into a bar. Spying a distinct whiskey bottle, he designs a squeaky dog toy to parody it. The toy is called ‘Bad Spaniels,’ and it looks like — you guessed it — a bottle of Jack Daniel’s,” the judge wrote.

But Smith and his peers in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in VIP Products’ favor, saying the toy neither infringed on nor tarnished Jack Daniel’s trademarks.

Bennet Cooper, an attorney with Dickinson Wright who represented VIP Products, told Courthouse News Service his client was delighted that the judges recognized the chew toy as a “playful parody.”

David G. Bray, Cooper’s colleague, said they never imagined it would end up fermenting in court for 12 years.

“For a case about a chew toy, it has had remarkable staying power,” he said in a company announcement.

A tug-of-war as old as 12-year-old whiskey

At issue is a section of U.S. trademark law, which forbids companies from intentionally misleading consumers by copying trademarks, as it can damage or “dilute” the trademark owner’s brand.

Jack Daniel’s position had been that VIP Products is doing just that with Bad Spaniels. VIP Products disagreed and says it’s only engaged in “playful parody.” Even the courts disagreed with each other.

In 2014, after Jack Daniel’s sent VIP Products a cease-and-desist letter, VIP Products went to U.S. district court seeking an official court statement that their toy does not infringe on Jack Daniel’s trademark. Jack Daniel’s made a counterclaim. The court sided with the latter.

But VIP Products was like a dog with a bone and appealed the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in VIP Products’ favor in 2020, saying that the toy was protected under First Amendment rights because it was an artistic or “expressive use” of Jack Daniel’s trademark and therefore did not infringe on the company’s trademark.

Jack Daniel’s took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. As Reuters reported, the Supreme Court ruled that the artistic or expressive argument wasn’t strong enough and sent the case back down to U.S. District Court — which once more ruled in Jack Daniel’s favor in 2025.

VIP Products appealed that decision, and the case went back to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which brings us to the latest ruling in August 2026.

The 9th Circuit determined that VIP Products said the toy was not an intentionally misleading use of Jack Daniel’s trademark. Rather, the court determined it was clearly a parody that “communicates a humorous message.”

The court ruled that VIP’s humor is a “non-commercial use” of Jack Daniel’s trademark (as opposed to selling fake Jack Daniel’s whiskey), meaning it is not infringing on the trademark.

VIP Products’ attorney David G. Bray is hoping to let sleeping dogs lie at this point.

“After 12 years, we hope this decision finally lets Bad Spaniels stay out of the trademark doghouse for good,” he said.