The Supreme Court’s oral arguments Wednesday will focus on a shot of potty humor from a dog toy company, and whether the well-known distillery it spoofs can scoop the product out of the market.
The maker of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey wants the justices to throw out a lower court ruling that would allow a dog toy company, VIP Products, to keep making the “Bad Spaniels” line of chew toys based on the distillery’s bottle.
What the justices decide could go far beyond dog toys, implicating how brands can control their depiction in books, movies and on TV in the absence of congressional action — and plenty of industries and artists have weighed in on the case.
