Under the Eagle’s Wings: The Coca-Cola Company’s Trademark Protection and Its Dilemmas in China (1930–1949)

In the 1920s, Coca-Cola successfully registered both its English and Chinese trademarks in China. Its product strengths, experience with trademark enforcement, and the legal privileges it enjoyed under extraterritoriality all contributed to its ability to combat counterfeits and defend its brand. Yet the company failed to align its trademark protection efforts with local conditions in China. Cultural differences between China and the United States, the uncertainties brought by war, and the structural limitations of Chinese commercial law introduced new challenges. Coca-Cola lacked targeted responses to these issues and operated without reliable local partners in its enforcement efforts. Consequently, it encountered increasing difficulties in protecting its trademarks. This article demonstrates how cultural, wartime, and legal factors profoundly shaped trademark protection for multinational corporations abroad. It argues that attention to local specificities in overseas markets proved essential for effective trademark enforcement.