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Jun 11, 2023

Ruff day in court: Supreme Court sides with Jack Daniel's in dispute with makers of dog toy

Jack Daniels was at the U.S. Supreme Court today. The whiskey-makers argued that

Jack Daniels was at the U.S. Supreme Court today. The whiskey-makers argued that a dog toy company violated federal trademark law with a product that parodies the distiller's iconic bottle. The toy is the Bad Spaniels Silly Squeaker toy by VIP products. The first amendment case pits the rights of a famous trademark holder against parody products. Jack Daniel says the toy damages its reputation, especially the references to dog poop.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday gave whiskey maker Jack Daniel's reason to raise a glass, handing the company a new chance to win a trademark dispute with the makers of Bad Spaniels dog toy.

In announcing the decision for a unanimous court, Justice Elena Kagan was in an unusually playful mood. Observers who watched her read a summary of the opinion in the courtroom said at one point she held up the toy, which squeaks and mimics the whiskey's signature bottle.

Kagan said a lower court's reasoning was flawed when it ruled for the makers of the rubber chew toy. The court did not decide whether the toy's maker violated trademark law but instead sent the case back for further review.

"This case is about dog toys and whiskey, two items seldom appearing in the same sentence," Kagan wrote in an opinion for the court. At another point, Kagan asked readers to "Recall what the bottle looks like (or better yet, retrieve a bottle from wherever you keep liquor; it's probably there)" before inserting a color picture of it.

Arizona-based VIP Products has been selling its Bad Spaniels toy since 2014. It's part of the company's Silly Squeakers line of chew toys that mimic liquor, beer, wine and soda bottles. They include Mountain Drool, which parodies Mountain Dew, and Heini Sniff'n, which parodies Heineken beer.

A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey next to a Bad Spaniels dog toy Nov. 20, 2022, in Arlington, Va.

While Jack Daniel's bottles have the words "Old No. 7 brand" and "Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey," the toy proclaims: "The Old No. 2 on Your Tennessee Carpet." The original bottle notes it is 40% alcohol by volume. The parody features a dog's face and says it's "43% Poo by Vol." and "100% Smelly."

The packaging of the toy, which retails for about $20, notes in small font: "This product is not affiliated with Jack Daniel Distillery."

Jack Daniel's, based in Lynchburg, Tennessee, wasn't amused. Its lawyers argued that the toy misleads customers, profits "from Jack Daniel's hard-earned goodwill" and associates its "whiskey with excrement."

At the center of the case is the Lanham Act, the country's core federal trademark law. It prohibits using a trademark in a way "likely to cause confusion … as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of … goods."

A lower court never got to the issue of consumer confusion, however, because it said the toy was an "expressive work" communicating a humorous message and therefore needed to be evaluated under a different test. Kagan said that was a mistake and "the only question in this case going forward is whether the Bad Spaniels marks are likely to cause confusion."

Kagan also said a lower court erred in its analysis of Jack Daniel's claim against the toy company for linking "its whiskey to less savory substances."

The case is Jack Daniel's Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC, 22-148.

The opinion was one of four the court issued Thursday, including a 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in Alabama in a congressional redistricting case.

Tech and engineering firms were the most inventive patent winners across the U.S. last year—a year marked by growing tension with foreign nations racing to bring world-changing tech like artificial intelligence and space satellites to market.

Nearly 160,000 patents were assigned across the U.S. in 2022, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. When a patent is awarded through the USPTO, the individual or company that it's given to has the license to a temporary monopoly on business for that specific product or service. Companies have used patent law for decades to defend their intellectual property including designs and devices against competitors that might attempt to profit off of stolen ideas.

ClickUp used data from the Patent and Trademark Office to find the top patent earner in each state based on the number of patents assigned in fiscal year 2022, which ran from Oct. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022, for the patent office.

The data looks at the assignees for both regular utility and design patents and was limited to assignees that received at least 10 patents within the year. There were no assignees that met these criteria in Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, or West Virginia.

Private spending on research and development by U.S. companies has skyrocketed since the economic downturn of the late 2000s. In 2020, it was estimated to total $531 billion, according to the latest available data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.

In 2022, nine colleges and universities rose to the top in their respective states for patent filing, including the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. The vast majority of top patent earners last year were private organizations.

Read on to see who scooped up the rights to the most cutting-edge tech in your state last year.

- Top patent earner: The Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama

- Patents issued, 2022: 29 (53.7% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 3

The University of Alabama earns the majority of patents in the state, according to USPTO data. In 2022 the university patents included technology for a method to convert a traditional lawn mower into an automated one.

- Top patent earner: Arizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of Arizona State University

- Patents issued, 2022: 179 (26.7% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 15

The Arizona Board of Regents earned patents in 2022 for a number of biological and technological breakthroughs, one of which is described as a "skin-like condom" that contains active ingredients for stimulating male and female arousal.

- Top patent earner: Qualcomm Technologies Inc.

- Patents issued, 2022: 2267 (10.1% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 299

Qualcomm earned patents in 2022 for technology that could recognize activities taking place in videos, and for annotating images of hands to better train machine learning algorithms. Early artificial intelligence models are notoriously inept at visualizing hands.

- Top patent earner: Dish Network Corp.

- Patents issued, 2022: 106 (15.3% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 28

Dish Network Corp. earned patents in 2022 for technologies to automate parts of the video editing process and methods for using voice to control media devices.

- Top patent earner: Raytheon Technologies Corp.

- Patents issued, 2022: 379 (35.2% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 23

Defense contractor Raytheon has earned patents for manufacturing aircraft parts including engines as well as onboard vehicle data systems. The contractor designs and builds aircraft and aerospace equipment for commercial and military use.

- Top patent earner: Blue Leaf

- Patents issued, 2022: 258 (29.9% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 18

Agricultural equipment manufacturer CNH Industrial America was granted a number of patents by the USPTO in 2022 which it transferred to a firm named Blue Leaf I.P. These patents include tech for augers, balers, and other agricultural machinery.

- Top patent earner: Magic Leap Inc.

- Patents issued, 2022: 275 (21.5% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 31

Founded in 2010, Magic Leap is a company developing augmented reality technology, which overlays digital content onto the real world. In 2022 it earned patents for mixed reality systems that can display 3D content in real-time.

- Top patent earner: AT&T

- Patents issued, 2022: 527 (37.3% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 29

Telecom giant AT&T is one of the most prolific patent earners in the nation. It earned patents in 2022 for edge computing and for automated assistants that are capable of delegating tasks dictated by the user.

- Top patent earner: The Boeing Co.

- Patents issued, 2022: 544 (19.4% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 48

Aerospace manufacturer Boeing obtained patents in 2022 for radar imaging system capabilities and improvements for aircraft parts like a noise-reducing landing gear technology.

- Top patent earner: Purdue Research Foundation

- Patents issued, 2022: 151 (14.6% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 21

Purdue Research Foundation earned patents for tech involved in glaucoma therapy and virtual reality. The foundation operates as the research arm of Purdue University.

- Top patent earner: Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc.

- Patents issued, 2022: 174 (34.2% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 7

Pioneer is a DuPont-affiliated, U.S.-based producer of genetically modified organisms used in agriculture. In 2022 the firm earned patents for novel insecticides, methods for identifying and creating rot-resistant crops, and novel breeds of corn crops.

- Top patent earner: T-Mobile Innovations LLC

- Patents issued, 2022: 79 (36.7% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 8

In Kansas, T-Mobile has earned patents for new technologies that could apply to its 5G cell network and device security.

- Top patent earner: Lexmark International Inc.

- Patents issued, 2022: 23 (29.1% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 5

Lexmark, a major producer of printer equipment, tops the list of patent earners in this state. The company earned patents for imaging technology and toner cartridges.

- Top patent earner: Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College

- Patents issued, 2022: 16 (100.0% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 1

Louisiana State University earned patents in 2022 for waterproof, self-powered lighting systems for plant life and methods for treating pain in patients.

- Top patent earner: EMC IP Holding Company LLC

- Patents issued, 2022: 734 (19.2% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 75

Commercial electronics firm EMC IP earned patents in 2022 for processes that automate data recovery following a ransomware attack as well as tech that combines the computing of multiple devices to complete a single, joint activity. The firm is the intellectual property arm of multinational tech company Dell.

- Top patent earner: Ford Motor Co.

- Patents issued, 2022: 815 (26.8% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 39

Ford and other American automakers have spent recent years developing their own proprietary technologies related to electric vehicles. Henry Ford's namesake was earning patents surrounding fuel cell assembly and other aspects of electrified mobility in 2022.

- Top patent earner: 3M Innovative Properties Co.

- Patents issued, 2022: 410 (23.1% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 32

Minnesota-based 3M is the company behind a number of plastic-based products used every day in American homes. In 2022 it earned patents for pads to compress sore joints and even a device that recognizes gunshots and electronically protects users' ears from damaging sound levels.

- Top patent earner: Snowflake Inc.

- Patents issued, 2022: 104 (100.0% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 1

Cloud provider Snowflake earned patents in 2022 for real-time streaming of data and ways to secure shared machine learning in databases in the cloud.

- Top patent earner: Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska

- Patents issued, 2022: 25 (32.5% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 5

At the University of Nebraska, researchers earned patents for tech advancements related to assessing diabetes risk, gene therapies, and tamper-proof medicine containers.

- Top patent earner: IGT

- Patents issued, 2022: 69 (38.8% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 5

IGT is a provider of technology to casinos and establishments operating in the gambling industry. In the past, the company has patented tech surrounding cashless betting and slot machines.

- Top patent earner: DEKA Products LP

- Patents issued, 2022: 79 (25.0% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 10

DEKA works in robotics and device manufacturing for those with disabilities and other health conditions as well as products like Segway and the Coca-Cola Freestyle drink machines. In 2022 it earned patents for object tracking via RFID systems as well as technology for dispensing products from a machine.

- Top patent earner: Honeywell International Inc.

- Patents issued, 2022: 324 (20.7% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 31

Honeywell is an engineering firm that operates in aerospace, materials, and productivity solutions. The firm has patented tech in 2022 that uses augmented reality for installing devices.

- Top patent earner: National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC

- Patents issued, 2022: 76 (59.8% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 3

National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia is an arm of the Sandia National Laboratories—an entity that operates as part of the country's federal nuclear science program. It earned patents in 2022 for real-time tracking of pathogens and tech related to controlled explosives.

- Top patent earner: Bank of America Corp.

- Patents issued, 2022: 294 (18.1% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 33

Bank of America earned patents in 2022 for machine learning applications within banking, including for recognizing and analyzing documents, among other advances.

- Top patent earner: Clark Equipment Co.

- Patents issued, 2022: 16 (100.0% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 1

Clark Equipment is a storied manufacturing firm that operates in the agricultural and construction equipment industries. It patented tech for fuel valves and steering mechanisms in commercial tractors.

- Top patent earner: The Procter & Gamble Co.

- Patents issued, 2022: 296 (22.2% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 40

Hygiene product maker Procter & Gamble patented new tech related to toilet paper products and liquid cleaning detergents.

- Top patent earner: The Board of Regents for Oklahoma State University

- Patents issued, 2022: 19 (63.3% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 2

There are not many patent filers in the state of Oklahoma, but the Stillwater-based state university earned the most in 2022. Those patents included tech for visualizing body tissues for surgeries as well as for vaccines.

- Top patent earner: Nike Inc.

- Patents issued, 2022: 894 (83.8% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 10

Athletic-wear brand Nike patents each of its shoe designs with the USPTO to stave off competition duplicating its designs. Despite the designer's passing in 2021, the firm is still receiving patents for shoes attributed to Virgil Abloh as recently as 2022.

- Top patent earner: Textron Inc.

- Patents issued, 2022: 191 (82.7% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 4

Textron is a manufacturing firm making defense and aerospace products. Its portfolio companies include Bell Helicopter. It obtained patents in 2022 related to aircraft rotors and other technologies.

- Top patent earner: Kyocera Corp.

- Patents issued, 2022: 35 (23.8% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 8

Electronics manufacturer Kyocera won patents in 2022 for semiconductor, RFID, and sleep-tracking technologies.

- Top patent earner: Smith & Nephew Inc.

- Patents issued, 2022: 73 (21.9% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 10

Medical technology firm Smith & Nephew patented technology in 2022 for medical implants and a device for closing wounds.

- Top patent earner: Hewlett-Packard Development

- Patents issued, 2022: 1558 (25.4% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 71

Hewlett-Packard's research arm patented tech related to 3D printing, a self-cooling headset, and tools for identifying malware.

- Top patent earner: Beta Technologies

- Patents issued, 2022: 62 (100.0% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 1

Beta Technologies is an aerospace engineering company whose patents relate to various aspects of charging and managing power in electric-driven aircraft.

- Top patent earner: Microsoft Corp.

- Patents issued, 2022: 1238 (39.9% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 18

Tech giant Microsoft beat out Amazon for patents earned in Washington state in 2022. It won patents on cloud computing and computer displays.

- Top patent earner: NASA

- Patents issued, 2022: 43 (21.5% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 8

NASA rises to the top in the nation's capital in terms of patents earned last year. In 2022 it patented tech for satellite platforms, UV ray sensors, and other space equipment.

- Top patent earner: Johnson Controls

- Patents issued, 2022: 265 (23.7% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 20

Johnson Controls is a manufacturer of heating, ventilation, and cooling systems for commercial and residential customers. In 2022, the company patented tech for air ducts.

- Top patent earner: University of Wyoming

- Patents issued, 2022: 10 (100.0% of all patents statewide)

- Unique patent assignees statewide, 2022: 1

The University of Wyoming patented technology for hydroponic plant production and nanoparticle delivery systems for pain therapies that leverage magnets.

This story originally appeared on ClickUp and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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