Jack Daniel’s Wins Supreme Court Bid to Sue Over ‘Bad Spaniels’

The US Supreme Court revived a lawsuit by the maker of Jack Daniel’s in a trademark clash over a chewable dog toy designed to mimic the iconic whiskey bottle.

The unanimous ruling is a victory for Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc., the Brown-Forman Corp. unit that makes the country’s best-selling whiskey. It’s a setback for VIP Products LLC, whose “Bad Spaniels” toy substitutes poop jokes for the words on the actual Jack Daniel’s bottle.

The case tested the reach of trademark rights in the face of First Amendment claims. A federal appeals court had ruled that Jack Daniel’s couldn’t enforce its ...