Coca Cola Bottle Granted Trade Mark Protection in Japan

August 14, 2008

Japan has joined a handful of other jurisdictions which recognise the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle as trade mark. According to the New York Times (see here), Coca-Cola had been pushing for this mark since 2003. They have succeeded where many other famous brands have failed including Yakult who also tried to register the shape of its bottle for trade mark protection.

The shape of the iconic bottle was first used by Coca-Cola in 1916. The bottle shape is the product of a contest held by Coca-Cola for design that a person would recognize it even in the dark. The bottle went onto latter fame with Andy Warhol’s pop art masterpiece which featured three of the contoured bottles.

Japan is not the only country to recognize shapes as trade marks. In fact, the bottle is already protected under trade mark law in several countries including the U.S., United Kingdom, Russia, and China. The Japanese Patent Office is still deciding whether they will appeal the ruling which was issued by the Tokyo High Court.