愛污传媒

Business

    • U.S. Justices asked to hear dog toy dispute. Will they bite?

    A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is displayed next to a Bad Spaniels dog toy in Arlington, Va., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. Jack Daniel's has asked the Supreme Court justices to hear its case against the manufacturer of the toy. (AP Photo/Jessica Gresko) A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is displayed next to a Bad Spaniels dog toy in Arlington, Va., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. Jack Daniel's has asked the Supreme Court justices to hear its case against the manufacturer of the toy. (AP Photo/Jessica Gresko)
    Share
    WASHINGTON -

    The company that makes Jack Daniel's is howling mad over a squeaking dog toy that parodies the whiskey's signature bottle. Now, the liquor company is barking at the door of the U.S. Supreme Court.

    Jack Daniel's has asked the justices to hear its case against the manufacturer of the plastic Bad Spaniels toy. The high court could say as soon as Monday whether the justices will agree. Several major companies from the makers of Campbell Soup to outdoor brand Patagonia and jeans maker Levi Strauss have urged the justices to take what they say is an important case for trademark law.

    The toy that has Jack Daniel's so doggone mad mimics the square shape of its whisky bottle as well as its black-and-white label and amber-coloured liquor while adding what it calls "poop humour." While the original bottle has the words "Old No. 7 brand" and "Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey," the parody proclaims: "The Old No. 2 on Your Tennessee Carpet." Instead of the original's note that it is 40% alcohol by volume, the parody says it's "43% Poo by Vol." and "100% Smelly."

    The toy retails for about $13 to $20 and the packaging notes in small font: "This product is not affiliated with Jack Daniel Distillery."

    The toy's maker says Jack Daniel's can't take a joke. "It is ironic that America's leading distiller of whiskey both lacks a sense of humour and does not recognize when it -- and everyone else -- has had enough," lawyers for Arizona-based VIP Products wrote the high court. They told the justices that Jack Daniel's has "waged war" against the company for "having the temerity to produce a pun-filled parody" of its bottle.

    But Jack Daniel's lead attorney, Lisa Blatt, made no bones about the company's position in her filing.

    "To be sure, everyone likes a good joke. But VIP's profit-motivated 'joke' confuses consumers by taking advantage of Jack Daniel's hard-earned goodwill," she wrote for the Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corp., Jack Daniel's parent company.

    Blatt wrote that a lower court decision provides "near-blanket protection" to humorous trademark infringement. And she said it has "broad and dangerous consequences," pointing to children who were hospitalized after eating marijuana-infused products that mimicked candy packaging.

    If VIP Products is allowed to confuse consumers with dog toys, "other funny infringers can do the same with juice boxes or marijuana-infused candy," Blatt wrote.

    The toy is part of a line of VIP Products called Silly Squeakers that mimic liquor, beer, wine and soda bottles. They include Mountain Drool, which parodies Mountain Dew, and Heini Sniff'n, which parodies Heineken. A court in 2008 barred the company from selling its Budweiser parody, ButtWiper.

    After the company began selling its Bad Spaniels toy in 2014, Jack Daniel's told the company to stop, but VIP went to court to be allowed to continue to sell its product. Jack Daniel's won the first round in court but lost an appeal. The case reached the Supreme Court at an earlier stage, but the justices didn't bite.

    Bad Spaniels isn't the only parody puppy toy to draw the ire of the brand it imitated. Luxury bag maker Louis Vuitton sued the makers of Chewy Vuiton over their plush purse dog toys. In 2007 a federal appeals court sided with the chew toy's manufacturers, Nevada-based Haute Diggity Dog. Louis Vuitton didn't appeal to the Supreme Court.

    The case is Jack Daniel's Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC, 22-148.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    Canadian Ryan James Wedding finished in 24th place in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, but the snowboarder wouldn鈥檛 go on to improve his results in Torino four years later.

    Angela Salvatore had been away from her father's hospital bedside for just over an hour when she says she got a frantic call from a nurse, pleading with her to calm him down.

    Canada

    • Canadian Ryan James Wedding finished in 24th place in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, but the snowboarder wouldn鈥檛 go on to improve his results in Torino four years later.

    • The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) has uploaded dozens of dashboard camera videos from the 1970s to their YouTube channel.

    • Canada Post driver Rick Harper recounts how he and others helped save a woman from a Tesla that caught fire after crashing into a guardrail on Lake Shore Boulevard.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    • Angela Salvatore had been away from her father's hospital bedside for just over an hour when she says she got a frantic call from a nurse, pleading with her to calm him down.

    • Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he doesn't "think it's fair" nurses and doctors have to pay for parking at the hospitals and health-care facilities that they work at, after 愛污传媒 Toronto highlighted the issue earlier this week

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

    Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

    He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

    A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

    Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

    A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

    A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

    A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

    Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

    • The final count of ballots in the 2024 B.C. election begins Saturday, with more than 66,000 mail-in and absentee votes potentially yet to be counted across the province's 93 electoral districts.

    • There were tense moments at a ferry terminal outside Victoria, B.C., on Friday after the lion鈥檚 share of standby spots on an early sailing were claimed by 鈥渁ssured loading鈥 passengers 鈥 leaving regular customers who had been waiting for hours out of luck.

    • The countdown to the arrival of Taylor Swift鈥檚 Eras Tour is on, with three dates planned in Vancouver this December - and some condo owners are looking to cash in on the fan frenzy.

    • Canadian Ryan James Wedding finished in 24th place in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, but the snowboarder wouldn鈥檛 go on to improve his results in Torino four years later.

    • Angela Salvatore had been away from her father's hospital bedside for just over an hour when she says she got a frantic call from a nurse, pleading with her to calm him down.

    • Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he doesn't "think it's fair" nurses and doctors have to pay for parking at the hospitals and health-care facilities that they work at, after 愛污传媒 Toronto highlighted the issue earlier this week

    • The Alberta legislature is set to reconvene on Monday and the Danielle Smith government will be providing more details about its plans for the session.

    • A person is dead in the aftermath of a traffic incident in Calgary's northeast on Friday evening.

    • An investigation into the death of a man in Calgary police custody earlier this month has concluded that officers did not contribute to his death and that he was cared for properly.

    • An Ottawa dietitian says the health trends on social media might not be the best option for you, citing some risks.

    • A former CTV Ottawa broadcaster is headlining an art gallery with landscape paintings this weekend.

    • It's going to be cold this Saturday in the capital, as colder than average temperatures are in the forecast.

    • In the wake of the Bedford school controversy, opposition parties called on the government to defund private religious schools, a proposal that Quebec鈥檚 main private school association says would end up costing the government and parents more.

    • Quebec's social services minister says he's outraged by reports that educators at a detention centre for youth in Montreal had sexual relations with minor detainees 鈥 and that one of the employees allegedly had a baby with a teenage resident.

    • Two minors were in court Friday to face charges after four teenagers were stabbed outside a Montreal high school.

    • A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.

    • A second person has been charged in connection with the death of a man in the Kingsway area earlier this year.

    • The Alberta legislature is set to reconvene on Monday and the Danielle Smith government will be providing more details about its plans for the session.

    • The GoFundMe page for the family of an employee found dead at a Halifax Walmart last weekend has paused donations after almost $200,000 was raised in roughly 24 hours.

    • New Brunswicker Jillea Godin鈥檚 elaborate cosplay pieces attract thousands to her online accounts, as well as celebrities requesting their own pieces.

    • The mystery of a 100-year-old letter sent from Manitoba to Ireland is slowly unraveling thanks to the work of one amateur sleuth.

    • Winnipeg police are looking for a suspect after a woman's dorm room was broken into at the U of M and she was assaulted.

    • Repairs to the historic 110-year-old rail bridge at The Forks could come with a multi-million dollar price tag.

    • Saturday will mark the end of the CFL regular season, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will have their eyes on Winnipeg鈥檚 matchup versus Montreal to know if they have a chance of clinching the West Division.

    • With an attempt to address the shortage of housing available in the community, the City of Yorkton has started a housing incentive program where new builders will receive a 50 per cent rebate on residential lots, and a full tax exemption for five years.

    • As the final day of voting for the Saskatchewan election inches closer, voters may be wondering when official winners will be declared.

    • Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, the man who stabbed three people in a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo, says he 鈥榓cted dumb鈥.

    • All the evidence has now been called at the trial of Erick Buhr, who has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder in the death of his grandmother, Viola Erb.

    • Residents spotted smoke coming from a waste management site in Waterloo on Friday afternoon.

    • A Saskatchewan woman is worried her child might die before receiving life-saving surgery and tests as he sits on the province's surgical waitlist.

    • The Saskatchewan RCMP is releasing the names of two suspects arrested on Thursday for a violent vehicle theft that triggered a widespread police search.

    • Police have still not confirmed the identity of a body discovered in Prince Albert last week.

    • The Town of Cochrane plans to roll out its $10-lot program in a month or two.

    • Two people 鈥 one from Timmins, the other from Kapuskasing -- have been fined more than $7,000 for camping violations, including empty septic tanks directly onto the ground.

    • The federal government is spending a significant amount of money to improve Indigenous student learning across Ontario.

    • At around 11:00 p.m. a witness saw them break a window at a building in the area of Chiddington Avenue and Compton Crescent.

    • In case you missed it, 愛污传媒 London has gathered all of the top local stories from this week into one video for your convenience.

    • A new staff report calls for homeless encampments to be allowed even closer to residential neighbourhoods, reducing the buffer zone from 100 metres to 25 metres.

    • Provincial police say there is an active investigation going on in the Town of Huntsville.

    • Several students have been banned from being spectators at school sporting events, and others suspended from school, after verbal and physical exchanges at a high school soccer game.

    • A 15-year veteran officer with the South Simcoe Police Service has been charged with discreditable conduct following an allegation of sexual assault.

    • In case you missed it, 愛污传媒 Windsor has compiled all of the top local stories from this week into one video.

    • The Windsor Police Service is investigating a suspicious death in south-central Windsor.

    • A Harrow school is memorializing two students and their mother, who were tragically killed in June.

    • The final count of ballots in the 2024 B.C. election begins Saturday, with more than 66,000 mail-in and absentee votes potentially yet to be counted across the province's 93 electoral districts.

    • There were tense moments at a ferry terminal outside Victoria, B.C., on Friday after the lion鈥檚 share of standby spots on an early sailing were claimed by 鈥渁ssured loading鈥 passengers 鈥 leaving regular customers who had been waiting for hours out of luck.

    • Hulitan Early Years Centre is a brand new, 48-seat childhood learning centre in Colwood. It was built to support Indigenous children throughout the capital region.

    • More than two years after Alannah Brown and Douglas Barker were found dead north of Penticton, police are asking for help identifying a vehicle they believe was associated with the crime.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • About 15,000 students are enrolled at Lethbridge鈥檚 post-secondary schools, and now the city is working with those schools to try to find ways to get them s to stick around a while.

    • With Halloween less than a week away, organizations in Lethbridge are preparing to get in on the trick-or-treating fun.

    • The City of Lethbridge is bringing forward a water conservation policy, the first of its kind for the city.

    • The union that represents hospital workers across the province is used a symbol from Greek mythology Friday in Espanola to drive home its campaign about the perils of privatization in health care.

    • CTV's Coats for Kids is nearing the end of its donation window, with the need as strong as it鈥檚 ever been.

    • The Anishinabek Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the circumstances around a death in Fort William First Nation.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 愛污传媒. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 愛污传媒