Canine Cola

I saw this Canine Cola dog squeaky toy in the pet store the other day, and it reminded me of the Bad Spaniels case. Canine Cola appears to imitate Coke products, while Bad Spaniels imitated Jack Daniels products. Both the 'Cola' and 'Spaniels' products are chew or squeaky toys. But is it the same? Based on the Bad Spaniels decision, why is the Canine Cola product still on the shelves?

It's not due to a lack of knowledge - Canine Cola is owned by VIP Products, the same company that created the Bad Spaniels toys.

Maybe the Coca-Cola Company is simply not bothered by it, given that Canine Cola isn't poop-themed? This was a major issue Jack Daniels raised throughout litigation. The trademark holder has the right (and duty) to police the use of their trademarks. Jack Daniels didn't want consumers to associate their brand with poop-themed products, while Coke might be okay with their brand possibly being associated with a chew toy.

Or maybe the design is just different enough that Coke doesn't think consumers will be confused. I wasn't confused, but am I representative of the average consumer? (Don’t answer that.)

I'm really curious to know if Coke sent a letter to VIP saying they will allow the Canine Cola squeaky toy to stay on the shelves as long as it's not associated with poop. Or maybe it just takes more than a couple months to remove all the products from stores.