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ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
Abelman, Frayne, &Schwab
This Week In Intellectual Property History for the Week of September 13th, 2010
On September 14, 1937, the Pepsi Cola Company received a registration for its script trademark:
Originally formulated by druggist Caleb Bradham in 1893, by 1923 the Pepsi-Cola Company had lost the cola wars to Coca-Cola and the company was declared bankrupt. Its assets were sold to a North Carolina concern, Craven Holding Corporation, for $30,000. That same year, Roy C. Megargel, a Wall Street broker, bought the Pepsi trademark, business and good will from Craven Holding Corporation for $35,000, forming the Pepsi-Cola Corporation.
But then the Depression hit and by 1931, the company was bankrupt again. Each time Pepsi went bankrupt, Coke had the opportunity to buy the company and put it out of business for good. But each time Coke passed. After the 1931 bankruptcy, the Loft candy company acquired the National Pepsi-Cola Company. Charles G. Guth, president of Loft, assumed leadership of Pepsi and ordered the reformulation of Pepsi-Cola syrup formula.
By 1934 the company was making its second comeback from bankruptcy. It began selling its 12-ounce drink for five cents (the same cost as six ounces of competitive colas). The cost savings proved irresistible to Depression-worn Americans and sales skyrocketed nationally.
On February 19, 1934, Caleb Bradham, the founder of Pepsi-Cola, died at age 66, knowing that his soft drink was once again a contender.
Also this week:
On September 15, 1992, CBS Inc. received a trademark registration for the logo of one of their most popular shows:
I Love Lucy premiered on CBS on October 15, 1951 and ran through June 24, 1957 totaling 179 episodes. The trademark registration we mark this week happened more than 40 years after the show first aired and is a testament to the continuing popularity of this classic sitcom. In case you've never heard them, here are the words to the show's theme song:
"I love Lucy and she loves me
We're as happy as two can be
Sometimes we quarrel but then
How we love making up again
Lucy kisses like no one can
She's my Mrs. and I'm her man
And life is heaven you see
'Cause I love Lucy
Yes I love Lucy
And Lucy loves me! "
Vivian Vance, Desi Arnaz, William Frawley and Lucille Ball at the 1952 Emmy Awards
