Coca-Cola, Swedish Family Fight Over Name
Tue Apr 15,11:35 AM ET
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – The cola wars have entered a new dimension in Sweden.
This time, the Coca-Cola Co. isn’t battling Pepsi-Cola International, but a family with the surname Urge. That also happens to the name of a citrus drink bottled by Coke that’s available only in Norway.
Coke has registered the name as a trademark in Sweden, but not launched in there. In the United States, the caffeine-loaded drink is called Surge.
Members of the Urge family tried to repeal the trademark, concerned that their name would become associated with a soft drink.
Swedish law prohibits registration of trademarks that use someone else’s family name. But the Court of Patent Appeals ruled in favor of Coca-Cola last month, saying the English word “urge” was more commonly known than the family name, which is pronounced “OOR-geh.”
Members of the Urge family didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment Tuesday.
There are six people in Sweden listed with the last name Urge, according to Statistics Sweden. Four of them are involved in the court case.
If Coke really wants to use a Swedish surname for a soft drink without engaging in litigation, I volunteer “Dahlberg” in the hopes of fostering peace and goodwill. Price negotiable.
