Cease and Desist Letter Rcd on a Trademark - But we use it differently.....

[quincy]

I do have an issue with the coke/ cocaine issue. Coca cola was named because of two of its ingredients; an extract from the coca plant and an extract from the kola nut. It did have cocaine in it. They still use an extract from coca leaves (although it is from leaves the cocaine has already been extracted).


The only valid issue in that case, to me, was the artwork of the lettering style.

It was the look of the Cocaine tee-shirt (it's imitation of Coke's protected script and colors) that infringed on Coke's trademark rights. The parody defense used by the Cocaine tee-shirt manufacturer failed and the Cocaine tee-shirt manufacturer was unable to successfully defend against the tarnishment claims.

Coke's history includes the fact that the original recipe used a small amount of cocaine (which was a common and legal ingredient in many medicines in the 1800s), but cocaine has not been present in the soft drink since the early 1900s. Today, connecting the name Coke with the illegal drug can legitimately be viewed as disparagement of the product and tarnishment of the trademark.