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A4 U.S. NEWS
Monday 21 noveMber 2022

Justices asked to hear dog toy dispute. Will they bite?

By JESSICA GRESKO is allowed to confuse con-
Associated Press sumers with dog toys, "other
WASHINGTON (AP) — The funny infringers can do the
company that makes Jack same with juice boxes or
Daniel's is howling mad marijuana-infused candy,"
over a squeaking dog toy Blatt wrote.
that parodies the whiskey's The toy is part of a line of
signature bottle. Now, the VIP Products called Silly
liquor company is barking Squeakers that mimic li-
at the door of the Supreme quor, beer, wine and soda
Court. bottles. They include Moun-
Jack Daniel's has asked tain Drool, which parodies
the justices to hear its case Mountain Dew, and Heini
against the manufacturer Sniff'n, which parodies
of the plastic Bad Spaniels Heineken. A court in 2008
toy. The high court could barred the company from
say as soon as Monday selling its Budweiser paro-
whether the justices will dy, ButtWiper.
agree. A number of major After the company began
companies from the mak- selling its Bad Spaniels toy
ers of Campbell Soup to in 2014, Jack Daniel's told
outdoor brand Patago- the company to stop, but
nia and jeans maker Levi VIP went to court to be al-
Strauss have urged the lowed to continue to sell its
justices to take what they product. Jack Daniel's won
say is an important case for A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is displayed next to a Bad Spaniels dog toy in the first round in court but
trademark law. Arlington, Va., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. Associated Press lost an appeal. The case
The toy that has Jack Dan- reached the Supreme
iel's so doggone mad mim- Vol." and "100% Smelly." They told the justices that she wrote for the Louisville, Court at an earlier stage,
ics the square shape of its The toy retails for about $13 Jack Daniel's has "waged Kentucky-based Brown-For- but the justices didn't bite.
whisky bottle as well as its to $20 and the packag- war" against the company man Corp., Jack Daniel's Bad Spaniels isn't the only
black-and-white label and ing notes in small font: "This for "having the temerity to parent company. parody puppy toy to draw
amber-colored liquor while product is not affiliated with produce a pun-filled paro- Blatt wrote that a lower the ire of the brand it imi-
adding what it calls "poop Jack Daniel Distillery." dy" of its bottle. court decision provides tated. Luxury bag maker
humor." While the original The toy's maker says Jack But Jack Daniel's lead at- "near-blanket protection" Louis Vuitton sued the mak-
bottle has the words "Old Daniel's can't take a joke. "It torney, Lisa Blatt, made no to humorous trademark in- ers of Chewy Vuiton over
No. 7 brand" and "Tennes- is ironic that America's lead- bones about the compa- fringement. And she said their plush purse dog toys.
see Sour Mash Whiskey," ing distiller of whiskey both ny's position in her filing. it has "broad and danger- In 2007 a federal appeals
the parody proclaims: "The lacks a sense of humor and "To be sure, everyone likes ous consequences," point- court sided with the chew
Old No. 2 on Your Tennes- does not recognize when a good joke. But VIP's prof- ing to children who were toy's manufacturers, Ne-
see Carpet." Instead of the it — and everyone else — it-motivated 'joke' confuses hospitalized after eating vada-based Haute Diggity
original's note that it is 40% has had enough," lawyers consumers by taking ad- marijuana-infused prod- Dog. Louis Vuitton didn't
alcohol by volume, the for Arizona-based VIP Prod- vantage of Jack Daniel's ucts that mimicked candy appeal to the Supreme
parody says it's "43% Poo by ucts wrote the high court. hard-earned goodwill," packaging. If VIP Products Court.q

Company: Leak at Pennsylvania gas storage well plugged

a leak that had been Pennsylvania environmen- dents living as four miles
spewing massive amounts tal regulators have issued away from the leak told
of planet-warming meth- the company notice of five The Associated Press on
ane into the atmosphere potential violations of state Friday they could hear the
for two weeks. law. roar of pressurized gas es-
Equitrans Midstream said A written statement pro- caping from the well and
the well at its Rager Moun- vided Sunday by Equitrans smell the fumes.
tain storage facility, locat- says the company had Methane's Earth-warming
ed in a rural area about verified a 0% gas reading power is some 83 times
1.5 hours east of Pittsburgh, at and around the well. stronger over 20 years
was sealed shut with con- More than 250 feet of ce- than the carbon dioxide
crete on Sunday. The well ment was pumped into the that comes from car tail-
had been venting about wellbore above two plugs pipes and power plant
100 million cubic feet of to ensure venting does not smokestacks. Oil and gas
natural gas per day since recur, the company said. companies are the top in-
This Nov. 7, 2022, photo, released by the Pennsylvania Nov. 6, according to initial The Rager facility is in Jack- dustrial emitters of meth-
Department of Environmental Protection shows a methane leak estimates. If accurate, that son Township, at the heart ane, which, once released
at a well owned by Equitrans Midstream at their Rager Mountain would total more than 1.4 of the Marcellus Shale for- into the atmosphere, will
storage facility near Jackson Township, Pa. billion cubic feet in meth- mation that has seen a be disrupting the climate
Associated Press
ane, equal to the green- boom in gas production for decades, contribut-
By MICHAEL BIESECKER gas storage well in Western house gas emissions from since the introduction of ing to more heat waves,
Associated Press Pennsylvania says workers burning more than 7,200 hydraulic fracturing more hurricanes, wildfires and
The operator of a natural have successfully plugged tanker trucks of gasoline. than a decade ago. Resi- floods.q