A legal case about a dog toy mimicking a bottle of Jack Daniel’s has resulted in a US Supreme Court ruling that the Tennessee whiskey company’s trademark was violated.

The ‘Bad Spaniels: The Old No.2 on your Tennessee Carpet’ chew toy was considered to be profiting “from Jack Daniel’s hard-earned goodwill” in the court’s opinion, following the whiskey firm’s decision to launch a lawsuit.

The toy was shaped like a Jack Daniel’s bottle with similar labelling, with the top US Court deciding it was a trademark violation, the whiskey firm confirming it would “continue to support efforts to protect the goodwill and strength of this iconic trademark”.

According to Lisa Blatt, attorney for the whiskey company: “Jack Daniel’s loves dogs and appreciates a good joke as much as anyone. But Jack Daniel’s likes its customers even more, and doesn't want them confused or associating its fine whiskey with dog poop.”

Among the similarities of the two products, the Jack Daniel’s ‘40% alcohol by volume’ labelling was replaced by ‘43% poo by volume’ and despite the dog toy including a note saying it was “not affiliated with Jack Daniel’s”, the whiskey firm argued in their filing that it would confuse customers to “associate Jack Daniel’s whiskey with excrement”.

The ‘Bad Spaniels Silly Squeaker’ product was created by Arizona-based VIP Products LLC, the Supreme Court decision dismissing an appeal finding that the toy was “non-commercial” parody, subject to First Amendment free speech protections.