Jack Daniel’s: Ninth Circuit's decision causes headaches

Americans love their dogs, their whiskey, and the First Amendment. In combination, these elements form the framework of one of the most consequential trademark cases to reach the US Supreme Court in nearly a decade, namely, Jack Daniel’s Properties v VIP Products.  SCOTUS is charged with resolving a split amongst the Circuit Courts (eg, the 9th Circuit versus everyone else) regarding the appropriate legal analysis to apply in evaluating trademark infringement claims involving commercial products with some parodic aka “expressive” content.