4 ms·
You might be surprised to learn that in the trademark law, common words like "paper" or "candy" can be used by multiple companies without them infringing on eac
by xxchan 13y ago
You might be surprised to learn that in the trademark law, common words like "paper" or "candy" can be used by multiple companies without them infringing on each other while "Coca-Cola" is way too specific for that.
- metaphorm 13y agowhy isn't Coca-Cola also a descriptive word? It describes the product (two important ingredients).
- ynniv 13y agoBecause "Coca-Cola" is a "fanciful name", employing strange capitalization and hyphenation. It's also a household name world-wide, which allows protection of somewhat generic names.
- Xdes 13y agoIt's a matter of common usage. Coca-Cola isn't a universal descriptor of that particular kind of carbonated soft drink. The term for that (in the US) is a cola (which is why there exists a lot of *-Cola beverages). The Coca leaf isn't used anymore due to the prohibition of cocaine.
- ynniv 13y agoNot true! They don't use cocaine, but they do extract flavor from imported coca leaves, and are the only US company allowed to do so. Randomish link from a quick search: http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2012/02/25/coca-cola-is-still-made-from-coca-leaves/ http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2012/02/25/coca-cola-is-still...