Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
PROJECT REPORT
Topics
Page no.
Acknowledgement 2
Contract Act
3-7
Intellectual property Rights 8-7
Company history of Coca cola 13-14
Annual Report of Coca cola 15 – 18
Balance Sheet
19- 21
Company profile- Bisleri 22
CASE- Coke vs Bisleri –Facts of the case 23
Judgement of the case 24
-25
Analysis of the case from Academic part 26
Learnings
27
ACKNOWLEGDEMENT
We would like to express our gratitude to all those who gave us the possibility
to complete this project. We are indebted to Dr. Sanjay Srivastava (Additional D
irector General) for giving us permission to commence this project work in the f
irst instance and to do the necessary research work.
We are extremely grateful to our supervisor Prof.Monica Suri our business enviro
nment and law faculty of Amity Business School, Uttar Pradesh whose help, stimul
ating suggestions and encouragement helped us in this project.
WHAT IS A CONTRACT?
The law of contract is the foundation upon which the superstructure of modern bu
siness is built. It is common that in every business transactions quite often pr
omises are made out at one time and the performance follows later. In such a cas
e if either of the parties were free to go back on its promise without incurrin
g any liability, there would be endless complications. Hence the law of contract
was enacted which lays down the legal rules relating to promises, their formati
on and their performance. The law of contract is applicable not only to business
but also to others. It furnishes the basis for the other branches of mercantile
law.
DEFINITION OF CONTRACT:
According to section 2(h) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 , “every agreement an
d promise enforceable at law is a contract.”
So a contract is an agreement, enforceable by law, made between at least two par
ties by which rights are acquired by one and obligations are created on the part
of another. If the party, who has agreed to do something, fails to do that, the
n the other party has a remedy.
Example:
Mr. X promises to deliver Mr.Y goods of value Rs.10,000 by 15th of next month. I
ncase Mr. X fails to fulfill his promise, Y has a remedy for it.
When the offerer is paid to keep the offer open for certain time and when there
is a firm offer under sec. 2-205 of the Uniform Commercial Code. This kind of of
fer can only stay open 90 days. It does not need consideration. It must be in wr
iting.
2. Acceptance
When a buyer accepts the offer, keeps the goods or fails to reject them in a lim
ited time, then the offer is considered accepted. There are three types of accep
tance:
-Conditional acceptance- When a contract is made under certain conditions. This
kind of acceptance usually counts as counteroffer and is valid only if the other
side agrees. Conditional acceptance is also when a side agrees to pay after goo
d is delivered on certain date at certain location
-Expressed acceptance- this kind of acceptance is a direct acceptance of the off
er, without any changes or additions.
-Implied acceptance- An implied acceptance is when the party implies with conduc
t that he accepts the offer. If a cosmetic product is sent to a customer and the
customer fails to return it in the period he agreed to return it if he does not
like it, he actually accepts the product and is obligated to pay it.
There are many firms operating on this principals and even insurance companies a
re making money on the fact that the customers forget to cancel the offer on tim
e.
3. Consideration
Consideration is when a party agrees to the terms of a contract. In the past sha
king hands was the expression of consideration. This is so called "closure" of a
contract. In our complicated times when there are many different contracts cons
ideration may have a very different expression. For example when there is a cont
ract between two parties that the first one will get paid after he builds a hous
e on certain location for certain time. If the party does build a house on the l
ocation for the time in the contract, it is expressing a consideration in action
. Consideration may be a promise to do something or to refrain from doing someth
ing.
Consideration must have a value that can be objectively determined. For example
the marriage binding promise to love someone is not a consideration. A person ca
n not be charged in court for
not keeping this promise because "love "is a very stretchable notion. It is not
enforceable because love is subjective by nature.
From another point of view when there is a contract that is unilateral or paymen
t is supposed to come after one party is fulfilled their promise, there are many
things that may go wrong. For example, when a party promises to build a house o
n certain location, for certain time in exchange for a payment at the certain da
te when the project will be finished. Let's say that the payer does not like the
quality of the house or on the date when the house is supposed to be finished,
it is not. Those cases fill the courts and make the judges worth their money. In
a case like this the reasonable expectations are considered in order to take a
fair decision.
4. Capacity of parties
The parties to an agreement must be competent to contract, otherwise it cannot b
e enforced in the court of law. In order to be competent the parties must attain
the age of majority, be of sound mind and not be disqualified from contracting
under any law to which they are subject. If any of the parties to the agreement
suffers from minority, lunacy, drunkness or any other problem, the agreement bec
omes null and void.
5. Free Consent
Free consent is another major element of a contract. Consent means the parties m
ust have agreed upon the same thing in the same sense. There should be no acts o
f coercion, fraud, misrepresentation, mistake, undue influence. If the contract
is initiated by means of any of the factors it would be voidable.
6. Lawful object
For formation of a contract it is also necessary that the parties to a contract
must agree for a lawful object. The object for which the agreement has been ente
red into must not be fraudulent or illegal or immoral or opposed to public polic
y or must not imply injury to any person or property of another. If the contract
lacks a lawful object it is considered void.
If a landlord lent’s his house to a smuggler for smuggling, he cannot receive an
y unpaid rent through court of law.
8. Certainty
An agreement that is not certain or the performance of which is not certain is
declared void by law. In order to give rise to a valid contract the terms of it
must not be vague or uncertain. It must be possible to ascertain the meaning of
the agreement , for otherwise, it cannot be enforced.
X agrees to sell Y 1200tonnes of oil, but since what kind of oil is not mentione
d, the agreement is void.
9. Possibility of performance
An agreement to do an act impossible in itself is void. If the act is impossible
in itself, physically or legally, the agreement cannot be enforced at law.
A agrees with B to discover treasure by magic. The agreement is not enforceable.
10. Not expressly declared void
The agreement must not have been expressly declared to be void under the act. Ce
rtain types of agreements are there which have been expressly declared as void.
For example, an agreement in restraint of marriage, trade, by way of wager have
been expressly declared void under Section 26, 27 and 30 respectively.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
In May, 1886, Coca Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton a pharmacist from
Atlanta, Georgia. John Pemberton concocted the Coca Cola formula in a three legg
ed brass kettle in his backyard. The name was a suggestion given by John Pembert
on s bookkeeper Frank Robinson.
Birth of Coca Cola
Being a bookkeeper, Frank Robinson also had excellent penmanship. It was he who
first scripted "Coca Cola" into the flowing letters which has become the famous
logo of today.
The soft drink was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob s Phar
macy in Atlanta on May 8, 1886.
About nine servings of the soft drink were sold each day. Sales for that first y
ear added up to a total of about $50. The funny thing was that it cost John Pemb
erton over $70 in expanses, so the first year of sales were a loss.
Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as a tonic, contained extracts of cocaine a
s well as the caffeine-rich kola nut.
In 1887, another Atlanta pharmacist and businessman, Asa Candler bought the form
ula for Coca Cola from inventor John Pemberton for $2,300. By the late 1890s, Co
ca Cola was one of America s most popular fountain drinks, largely due to Candle
r s aggressive marketing of the product. With Asa Candler, now at the helm, the
Coca Cola Company increased syrup sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900
Advertising was an important factor in John Pemberton and Asa Candler s success
and by the turn of the century, the drink was sold across the United States and
Canada. Around the same time, the company began selling syrup to independent bot
tling companies licensed to sell the drink. Even today, the US soft drink indust
ry is organized on this principle.
New Coke
On April 23, 1985, the trade secret "New Coke" formula was released. Today, prod
ucts of the Coca Cola Company are consumed at the rate of more than one billion
drinks per day.
Our Mission
• To refresh the world...
•
• To inspire moments of optimism and happiness...
• To create value and make a difference.
Our Vision
• People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the bes
t they can be.
• Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands tha
t anticipate and satisfy people s desires and needs.
• Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together
we create mutual, enduring value.
• Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping buil
d and support sustainable communities.
• Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of
our overall responsibilities.
• Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.
OTHER ASSETS
1,793
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT — net 8,425
TRADEMARKS WITH INDEFINITE LIVES 6,042
GOODWILL 3,988
OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS 2,384
TOTAL ASSETS $ 43,103
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 5,651
Loans and notes payable 6,701
Current maturities of long-term debt 461
Accrued income taxes 356
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 13,169
LONG-TERM DEBT 5,017
OTHER LIABILITIES 2,944
DEFERRED INCOME TAXES 865
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY SHAREOWNERS EQUITY
Common stock, $0.25 par value; Authorized — 5,600 shares
880
Capital surplus 8,021
Reinvested earnings 38,911
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
(2,893)
Treasury stock, at cost (24,207)
EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREOWNERS OF THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
20,712
EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS 396
TOTAL EQUITY 21,108
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $ 43,103
Note:
The financial information included in this section should be read in conjunction
with Management s Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Notes to Conso
lidated Financial Statements
contained in our Company s 2009 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and 2008 Annual Re
port on Form 10-K.
The interesting case on the allegedly unauthorized use of the MAAZA Trademark cl
osely contested between Coca Cola and Bisleri International already has been rep
orted
To briefly recount the facts in this case, Bisleri Sales Ltd. (previously Golden
Agro Products), was the registered proprietor of the TM Maaza as well as the ow
ner of the secret base etc. used to manufacture the product.
The company then amalgamated with Bisleri International. As far back as 1993, Co
ca Cola and Bisleri Intl. entered into an agreement to "irrevocably" transfer al
l the rights as to technical know how and a general as well as specific assignme
nt as to goodwill, etc. The agreement also, importantly, contained a negative co
venant that allowed Coca Cola to use the MAAZA trademark in India, but nowhere e
lse.
Bisleri’s contention was that Maaza was sold to Coca-Cola for distribution and s
ale only within India and that the licensee (Bisleri) was the registered proprie
tor of the trademark outside the country. The Coca-Cola Company however, claimed
to be the absolute owner of the formulations and knowhow in India through a tra
nsfer of knowhow agreement with Aqua Minerals and a confidentiality agreement wi
th Golden Agro, a sister concern of Bisleri which was engaged in manufacturing t
he drink.
. Thus, when Coca Cola company confronted Bisleri with information received as t
o the sale of beverages under the MAAZA mark in Turkey, by Bisleri they were an
swered with a legal notice stating that not only were they allowed to sell in Tu
rkey without infringing the mark, and that they planned to sell in India as well
.
Export of beverages under the mark MAAZA by the sister concern of Bisle
ri: If the infringing activity is conducted within the territory of the Court- e
ven if the same is for export purposes, the Court would have the necessary
jurisdiction to try the matter. Justice Singh used the cases of Janinder
Jain v. Arihant Jain, 2007 (34) PTC 128 (Del).
Last year, the Delhi High Court was of the view that Coca-Cola was the owner of
the Maaza trademark in India. The court however, restrained Coca-Cola and its as
sociates from using the trademark Maaza or any other deceptively similar tradema
rk in relation to non-alcoholic beverages, syrups and other preparations till a
final hearing.
“The court was pleased to dismiss Bisleri’s application for vacation of the ex-p
arte interim injunction against use of the Maaza trademark in India including th
e use for purposes of export from India as well as their application for rejecti
on of the suit on the grounds that the Delhi High Court lacked the requisite jur
isdiction,”
Analysis of the case from Academic part :
Looking at the academic part , this case is based on the Intellectual property R
ights, the details of which are provided in the report, also if we analysis the
elements of contract in this case, it is observable that it had certain conditio
ns applied , and acceptance of such a contract is called ‘Conditional acceptance
’ which states - When a contract is made under certain conditions. This kind of
acceptance usually counts as counteroffer and is valid only if the other side ag
rees.
Bisleri Internatinal while making the agreement had clearly put forward its cond
ition that coca cola would have the rights to market the product in India only,
but Bisleri itself did not had legal rights to sell the product over seas, also,
according to the contract between coca cola and Golden agro, coca cola had been
bestowed with the soul ownership of the formulation of the drink, so Bisleri In
ternational was in no condition to manufacture mango drink with the same formula
tion and market it with different name in India.
So considering these facts and evidence we are fully satisfied with te verdict o
f the court which was in support of coca cola.
OUR LEARNINGS:
Gained knowledge about:
1.Contract Act
2.Companies Act
3.Intellectual Property Rights.
4..Various ways in which company cases are dealt.