Corporate America risks losing the Supreme Court

If America inc were ever to raise a glass to the Supreme Court, the ideal time to have done so was in June, when the nine justices ruled unanimously in favour of Jack Daniel’s in a jolly judgment that included discussion of parody, bad puns and, of all things, dog poo. The trademark-infringement case centred on a canine toy shaped like a bottle of Jack Daniel’s called “Bad Spaniels”. Beneath, in the whiskey maker’s black-and-white filigree, the words “Old No. 7 Brand Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey” were replaced by “The Old No. 2 on your Tennessee Carpet”. Jack Daniel’s was not amused, nor was the US Chamber of Commerce, an influential lobby group that called the case “no laughing matter”. Elena Kagan, a liberal justice who wrote the opinion, could barely contain her mirth, remarking that the case was about “dog toys and whiskey, two items seldom appearing in the same sentence”. Her conclusion, though, was dead serious and pro-big business: parody is not a blanket excuse for trademark violation.