Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group (hereinafter DPS) is one of North America’s leading refreshment beverage companies (DPS). The company markets more than fifty brands of juices, teas, mixers, waters, carbonated soft drinks and other premium beverages. Among the brands operated by the company are: Dr Pepper, 7 Up, Clamato, Canada Dry, ReaLemon, Schweppes, Snapple, Venom Energy, Orangina, Sun Drop, Sunkist Soda and many others (DPS). DPS is a stand-alone and publicly-traded company. The company operates 21 manufacturing centers and more than 200 distribution centers (DPS). DPS employs approximately 19, 000 people across North America. DPS operates not only in the United States but also in Canada and Latin America (DPS). In the United States, the company primarily distributes soft drinks and non-carbonated beverages. In Mexico and the Caribbean DPS distributes the carbonated mineral water, bottled water and vegetable juice categories. In Canada the company operates such brands as Mott's Apple Juice, Mott's Clamato, Canada Dry, Dr Pepper, Crush, Mott's Fruitsations, Schweppes, Orangina, Mott's Garden Cocktail, and Mr & Mrs T mixers and some others. The company’s headquarters is located in Plano, Texas. The company’s mission is to become the best beverage business in America (DPS). In order to complete its mission DPS focuses on building and enhancing leading brands, pursuing profitable channels, categories and packages, fostering its route to market, improving operating efficiency, leveraging its integrated business model (DPS). The company manufactures and sells beverage concentrates in the United States and Canada. Then beverage concentrates are delivered to third party bottlers who combine them with carbonated, water, sweeteners and other ingredients, package it in containers, glass bottles, aluminium cans and sell it as finished beverages to retailers (DPS). Overall, one may observe that company’s operation is concentrated on brands and manufacturing of beverages concentrates. Such activity is subject to various laws and regulations. As far as brands are concerned, the company is subject to intellectual property laws including the Lanham Act. Beverage concentrates production is subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, state consumer protection laws and state warning and labelling laws. All new initiatives regarding introduction of new brands and production of new beverage concentrate require compliance with aforementioned laws and regulations. This paper represents an attempt to determine laws applicable DPS operation. In particular the paper discusses intellectual property laws, food laws, consumer protection and labeling laws. The paper also makes recommendation as to how to prevent lawsuits against the company.
Part I: Intellectual property laws
DPS possesses intellectual property which is important to its business. In particular the company possesses copyrights, patents, trademarks, ingredient formulas, and business processes. DPS license some of its trademarks to third parties (DPS). At the same time, DPS also licenses certain trademarks from third parties (DPS). All these transactions are subject to the Lanham Act. In particular, the Lanham Act offers protection to trademarks. The Lanham Act protects four types of marks: trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks. Trademark is defined as any word, name, symbol, …