The Federal Appeal court said Wednesday that Coca-Cola Co’s sales of Thums Up and Limca sodas in India and other nations did not justify revoking another firm’s U.S. trademarks for soft drinks with the same title.
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The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinstated Meenaxi Enterprise Inc’s U.S. trademarks after determining that Coca-Cola failed to demonstrate any damage in the United States that would allow it to dispute them, reported Reuters.
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Richard Mandel of Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, Meenaxi’s attorney, said he and the company were delighted with the ruling. According to the court, Parle Bisleri launched Limca lemon-lime soft drinks in India in 1971 and Thums Up cola in 1978. In 1993, Coca-Cola purchased the rights to the drinks.
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Throughout India and other nations in Asia and Africa, Thums Up and Limca is readily available. Coca-Cola further stated that importers had been selling them in the United States since at least 2005.
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Meenaxi obtained federal trademarks for the beverages in 2012 and has been selling them to Indian retailers in the US since 2008. In 2016, Coca-Cola requested that the registrations be cancelled by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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Coca-Cola was allowed to pursue the lawsuit by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board because Meenaxi’s products may tarnish the image of its drinks among Indian-Americans. It revoked the registrations after discovering Meenaxi was attempting to “dupe” US customers.
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The company did not demonstrate that it had suffered harm in the United States, according to the Federal Circuit, thus the board should not have allowed Coca-Cola to challenge the trademarks.
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According to the court, Coca-Cola does not distribute the beverages widely in America and has not demonstrated any lost sales as a result of Meenaxi’s products. Third-party importers’ sales of the drinks likewise did not establish the company’s trademark standing.
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The alleged damage to Coca-Cola’s reputation among the Indian-American community was thus inadequate to support the case. According to the Federal Circuit, there is “no basis to assume that an American of Indian descent is aware of brands in India,” and the board’s opposing determination is “at least in part based on stereotypical supposition.”
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The case is Meenaxi Enterprise Inc vs. Coca-Cola Co, No. 21-2209 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.