What Do Jack & Coke and Trademark Infringement Have in Common? They Both Lead to Actual Confusion: Jack Daniel's Sues Jakk’d Beverages

The "Jack Daniel's" trademark was first used in the United States in connection with whiskey in 1866 and has been used continuously since then, except during prohibition. Recently, Jack Daniel's filed a trademark infringement suit against Jakk'd, which produces and sells various alcoholic beverages.

According to the complaint:

The public has long identified and referred to "JACK DANIEL'S" whiskey and prepared alcoholic cocktails by the mark, name, and "bar call" "Jack," and variants thereof. Members of the public commonly use "Jack" alone to identify Jack Daniel's whiskey and prepared alcoholic cocktails when they order the products in on-premise channels of trade such as bars and restaurants, or in off-premise channels of trade such as liquor stores, and when they recommend the products to others.

....

... when Defendants adopted the "JAKK'D" mark, they knew of the use and fame of JDPI's [Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc] "JACK DANIEL' S" and other "JACK" formative marks in the United States and the extensive public association of the mark and name "Jack" with "JACK DANIEL' S" whiskey and prepared alcoholic cocktails. Upon information and belief, when Defendants adopted the "JAKK'D" mark, and the white-on-black color scheme used on the products and the promotional materials, they knew of the famous white-on-black color scheme

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