"Funda" Beverage Bottle Not Approved Trademark Registration

“Fenda” is a well-known brand of Coca-Cola, because the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce does not allow the registration of the “Fanta” drink bottle design as a three-dimensional trademark. The Coca-Cola Company appealed to the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court. . In recent days, the case made a first-instance decision in a middle school. As the overall design of the "Fanta" beverage bottle was the same as that of an ordinary bottle, the visual effect was not significant and it was not significant. According to this case, Coca-Cola was found to have lost the suit and maintained the business. The review decision of the judges.

Coca-Cola claimed that its registered trademark “Fanta” beverage bottle logo is a bottle type three-dimensional logo. Compared with the common bottle type, the main feature is the dense surrounding ribs in the lower half of the bottle. Coca-Cola believes that the lower part of the bottle is often the main part of the consumer's visual identity and the main contact area, so the rib design of this part produces a unique effect that distinguishes it from the general bottle type. Coca-Cola's long-term use of this type of bottle for the production of its "Fanta" beverage products, deeply loved by Chinese consumers, has formed a specific association among consumers, can be distinguished from the ordinary bottle type, and the bottle-shaped three-dimensional trademark has been Obtaining registration in multiple countries fully proves that the trademark is distinctive and should be approved for registration. Requesting the court to rescind the application for refusal of registration made by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board will not preliminarily approve the announcement of the review decision.

The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board believes that the "Fanta" beverage bottle design is relatively simple, lacks in features, is not easy to distinguish from other beverage bottles, and does not produce distinctive features that are different from other common bottle shapes, and the overall lack of distinctiveness. As for the ribs emphasized by Coca-Cola Company, there are many beverages on the market that have previously used ribbed and non-slip design on bottles. The Coca-Cola bottle is not original and does not meet Article 11 of the Trademark Law. Provisions. In addition, according to the territorial principle of trademark right protection and protection, the application for registration of a trademark in another country cannot be used as a reason for registration in China. Therefore, it was decided to reject the plaintiff's application for trademark and the preliminary approval announcement was not given.

According to the trial of the Intermediate People's Court, the "Trademark Law" stipulates that signs that lack distinctiveness cannot be registered as trademarks. The "Fanta" beverage bottle is designed as a rib on the bottom of the bottle body on the basis of an ordinary bottle shape. Although this design is different from the lower part of an ordinary bottle, the difference between the two is that the overall design is basically the same. The difference in visual effects is not great. The ribs in the lower part of the bottle of "Fanta" drink are not enough to constitute a significant change in the shape of the bottle and the appearance of the ordinary bottle, and it is not easy for the general consumers to pay attention. Therefore, the overall lack of significant application for trademarks does not have the effect of distinguishing them from other commodities. According to this, the Trade Review and Adjudication Board has rejected the correct application of the trademark and the court should maintain it. Based on this, the above judgment of first instance was made.

On the day of the trial, the agent of the TRAB did not appear in court, and the court made a default judgment. The Coca-Cola agent did not explicitly state whether to appeal.