Coca-Cola fails in Australian lawsuit against Pepsi
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    Following a four-year legal battle, Coca-Cola originally pressed charges against Pepsi following PepsiÂs release of the ÂCarolina bottle which they believe holds similar shape to Coca-ColaÂs own, iconic ÂContour bottleÂ, which has been distributed in Australia since 1938, by comparison PepsiÂs ÂCarolina bottle has only been distributed from as recently as 2007.
    Coca-Cola claimed the ÂCarolina bottle infringed four of Coca-ColaÂs own registered trademarks for the ÂContour bottle  Coca-Cola argued that trademark infringement occurred due to the fact that Pepsi had used the whole bottle shape of the ÂCarolina bottle as its own trademark.
    The claims of trademark infringement, misleading or deceptive conduct by Coca-Cola against  PepsiCo inc., PepsiCo Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, and Schweppes Australia Pty.
    However despite strong claims and allegations, the Federal Court of Australia rejected Coca-ColaÂs claims against Pepsi on November 28 2014  Justice Besanko in judgement, held that the outline/silhouette of the ÂCarolina bottle was not sufficient to indicate to the consumer a connection in the course of trade between the beverage and Pepsi.
    Following the rejection Coca-Cola expressed its disappointment with the outcome by giving a statement ÂThe judgement is extremely disappointing. For more than a century, the Coca-Cola Company has carefully developed and protected our intellectual property including our trademarks, patents and copyrights Coca-Cola were ordered by the Judge to pay PepsiCoÂs legal fees.
    The rejection follows both a similar rejection in New Zealand against Pepsi and a steady decline in soft-drink consumption  particularly amongst young adults, for Coca-Cola. Over the last 8 economic quarters (2 years) Coca-ColaÂs profits had fallen more than 20%.
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