Coca Cola 2004 Annual Report Download - page 13

Patents, Copyrights, Trade Secrets and Trademarks
Our Company owns numerous patents, copyrights and trade secrets, as well as substantial know-how and
technology, which we collectively refer to in this report as ‘‘technology.’’ This technology generally relates to our
Company’s products and the processes for their production; the packages used for our products; the design and
operation of various processes and equipment used in our business; and certain quality assurance and financial
software. Some of the technology is licensed to suppliers and other parties. Our soft-drink and other beverage
formulae are among the important trade secrets of the Company.
We own numerous trademarks that are very important to our business. Depending upon the jurisdiction,
trademarks are valid as long as they are in use and/or their registrations are properly maintained and they have
not been found to have become generic. Registrations of trademarks can generally be renewed indefinitely as
long as the trademarks are in use. The majority of our Company’s trademark license agreements are included in
the Company’s Bottler’s Agreements. The Company has registered and licenses the right to use its trademarks in
conjunction with certain merchandise in addition to nonalcoholic beverages.
Governmental Regulation
Our Company is required to comply, and it is our policy to comply, with applicable laws in the numerous
countries throughout the world in which we do business. In many jurisdictions, compliance with competition laws
is of special importance to us, and our operations may come under special scrutiny by competition law
authorities due to our competitive position in those jurisdictions.
The production, distribution and sale in the United States of many of the Company’s products are subject to
the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act; the Occupational Safety and Health Act; the Lanham Act; various
environmental statutes; and various other federal, state and local statutes and regulations applicable to the
production, transportation, sale, safety, advertising, labeling and ingredients of such products. Outside the
United States, the production, distribution and sales of our many products are also subject to numerous statutes
and regulations.
A California law requires that a specific warning appear on any product that contains a component listed by
the state as having been found to cause cancer or birth defects. The law exposes all food and beverage producers
to the possibility of having to provide warnings on their products. This is because the law recognizes no generally
applicable quantitative thresholds below which a warning is not required. Consequently, even trace amounts of
listed components can expose affected products to the prospect of warning labels. Products containing listed
substances that occur naturally or that are contributed to such products solely by a municipal water supply are
generally exempt from the warning requirement. No Company beverage products are currently required to
display warnings under this law. However, we are unable to predict whether a component found in a Company
product might be added to the California list in the future. Furthermore, we are also unable to predict when or
whether the increasing sensitivity of detection methodology that may become applicable under this law and
related regulations as they currently exist, or as may be amended, might result in the detection of an
infinitesimal quantity of a listed substance in a Company product.
Bottlers of our beverage products presently offer non-refillable, recyclable containers in the United States
and various other markets around the world. Some of these bottlers also offer refillable containers, which are
also recyclable. Legal requirements have been enacted in jurisdictions in the United States and overseas
requiring that deposits or certain ecotaxes or fees be charged for the sale, marketing and use of certain non-
refillable beverage containers. The precise requirements imposed by these measures vary. Other beverage
container-related deposit, recycling, ecotax and/or product stewardship proposals have been introduced in
various jurisdictions in the United States and overseas. We anticipate that similar legislation or regulations may
be proposed in the future at local, state and federal levels, both in the United States and elsewhere.
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