The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC, has provided clarity on the line between trademark and First Amendment rights. The court unanimously ruled that if an entity’s use of a “parody” is a trademark, then it doesn’t pass the test to evaluate whether free speech can be invoked to dodge a Lanham Act infringement claim.
Finnegan partner Mark Sommers told Law360 that having such a "bright-line rule" with a "practical approach" was a relief given that the court could have gone in several directions.
The justices were "not blind to the fact that they weren't dealing" with the test itself, Mark said. He noted that Justice Neil Gorsuch had acknowledged that exact concern in a concurring opinion, telling district courts to be careful when reviewing the Rogers test and tuned into how it will be interpreted.
