Maker’s Mark settles trademark battle over dog treat
A settlement has been reached between Suntory Global Spirits-owned Maker’s Mark and Louisville-based gourmet dog treat company Wigglewow over a trademark for the term ‘Maker’s Bark’.
In 2021, Wigglewow created a dog treat shaped like a Maker’s Mark Bourbon bottle, which it called Maker’s Bark. The treat features canine-friendly icing that has been used to resemble the brand’s ‘iconic’ red wax bottle neck dip.
The company, founded by Mark Pfeifer, filed a trademark for the name with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in February 2022. According to the trademark status, the mark’s application consisted of standard characters without claim to any particular font style, size, or colour.
The trademark application was published on 24 September 2024, and in January of this year, Maker’s Mark’s legal representatives at Chicago-based Mayer Brown LLP filed an opposition to the trademark with the USPTO’s trial and appeal board, claiming Wigglewow “knowingly and intentionally infringed upon and diluted the value of Maker’s Mark’s famous brand by purloining and adopting” Maker’s Bark.
In the appeal, the Kentucky-based whiskey producer also claimed ‘Maker’s Bark’ was coined by Maker’s Mark and introduced to Wigglewow “as part of Maker’s Mark’s own efforts to expand the Maker’s Mark brand” years before Pfeifer filed for a trademark.
Furthermore, it claimed Marker’s Mark identified Wigglewow as a potential manufacturer of Maker’s Bark-branded pet treats when the Bourbon maker was exploring the use of the Maker’s Bark brand before 2022.
The appeal stated the distillery originally contracted dog food producer Rudy Green’s in late 2019 to help create dog treats named ‘Maker’s Bark’. To help fulfil the large order, the dog food company allegedly “reached out” to local dog treat producers, including Wigglewow to “assist” with the production.
“Instead (Wigglewow) elected, without seeking Maker’s Mark’s approval and indeed behind Maker’s Mark’s back, to launch its own brand of pet treats under the name. To make matters worse, [the] applicant’s pet treats mimic the shape, colouring and design of Maker’s Mark bottle,” the appeal noted.
A motion to suspend the case for a settlement was filed twice, first in February and then again in April, at which point it was noted that Wigglewow and Maker’s Mark had become “actively engaged in negotiations for the settlement of this matter.”
According to documents filed with the trademark office, the negotiations recommenced on 25 June.
‘Not worth it’
The Spirits Business reached out to Pfeifer for comment, who confirmed that a settlement was reached on Friday (25 July). As such, he said he is unable to comment any further on the matter.
However, he had noted in an interview with the Louisville Courier Journal, published prior to the settlement, that he hoped Maker’s Mark would have supported Wigglewow’s mission to provide careers to adults with special needs, noting that as a nonprofit organisation, a donation was also hoped for.
He explained: “I don’t have a spare US$40,000 to $700,000 to fight them through USPTO to keep the brand, so we are in the process of just folding over and giving it back to them. It’s just not worth it to me.”
He added: “I did think it was hilarious that our dog treat was causing confusion around their Bourbon brand.”
The Maker’s Bark dog treat, manufactured by adults with special needs at Wigglewow, is now due to be retired from production on 19 August 2025.
The details of the settlement have not been disclosed, and both Maker’s Mark and Mayer Brown have yet to respond to a request for comment.
This is not the first time products made for dogs have come under fire from spirits companies. In 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of Jack Daniel’s in a trademark battle against a producer of dog toys with ‘unsavoury themes’.
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