In a recent US case Royal Crown Company, Inc., Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., Vs. The Coca-Cola Company, the Coca-Cola Company applied for the registration of the term ZERO in order to claim exclusive rights over it and monopolize use of the term.
The appellants, Royal Crown Company, Inc. and Dr Pepper/Seven Up Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Royal Crown") and Coca Cola Company, both market various brands of beverages. ZERO is used by both companies to indicate the calorie count or sugar content in their respective products.
Coca Cola, filed for several marks containing the term ZERO, viz., Sprite ZERO, Coca Cola Zero, Fanta ZERO, etc. and asserted that they were exclusively entitled to use ZERO as an element in their marks since the consumers identified ZERO with only their brands. The Patent and Trademark Office granted registrations to Coca Cola based on their assertion.
Royal Crown appealed to the US Court of Appeals against the exclusive rights given to Coca Cola over the term ZERO. The Court of Appeals in its ruling stated that the term ZERO is generic in nature and thus exclusive rights cannot be granted over such a term. The Court further stated that, the popularity or the scope of a distinctive quality acquired over such term is irrelevant due to its genericness.
Thus, it can be inferred that 'ZERO' as a term can be used freely by any beverage company in order to indicate the calorie count in addition to its existing trademark.
Compiled by: Adv. Sachi Kapoor | Concept & Edited by: Dr. Mohan Dewan
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
