Shape of Coca-Cola bottle wins official trademark registration in Japan after court fight

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TOKYO (AP) -- The familiar curvaceous shape of the Coca-Cola bottle is now officially registered as a trademark in Japan - this nation's first such recognition of a three-dimensional bottle form devoid of any lettering.

A Japanese court ruled Thursday in favor of Coca-Cola Co., the U.S. beverage maker, which had been demanding registration for its so-called "contour bottle" since 2003, Maki Morino, spokeswoman for the company's Japan unit, said Friday.

The Japanese Patent Office had previously refused the demand, although other shapes, including Kentuky Fried Chicken's Colonel Sanders, have won such registration in Japan.

The sticking point with the Coke bottle was that it was a container without any lettering that seemed to be similar to other bottles, said Patent Office spokesman Yoshihisa Ariga.

Other companies such as Japanese brewery Suntory Ltd. and health drink maker Yakult Honsha Co. have sought to register the bottle shapes of their products but were turned down, he said.

The Patent Office needs to study the Tokyo High Court ruling, and has not yet decided whether it will appeal, said Ariga.

Coca-Cola's case got a boost because the company stuck to the same design since the start of the product, in 1916, and the iconic shape - inspiring the artwork of Andy Warhol and movies such as "The Gods Must Be Crazy" - is widely recognized.

The bottle became a registered trademark in the U.S. in 1960, and is likewise honored in Russia, Great Britain, China and other nations, according to Coca-Cola.

Japan's latest move will further strengthen the prevention of unlawful imitations here, although laws have existed from before under which Japan can crack down on blatant copycat products, the Patent Office and Coca-Cola said.

Coca-Cola has been sold in Japan since 1956.

"The ruling marks a meaningful step for Japan in recognizing trademarks," Morino said.

Another trademark for a shape awarded after a similar controversy in Japan, in June last year, was also American - the Maglite flashlight.

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