Coca Cola Threatens To Sue Indigenous Colombian Beer Brand Coca Pola

Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola has been accused of double standards after threatening to sue an indigenous people in Colombia for using a name they claim Coca Cola partially stole from them in the first place.

The indigenous Paez people, who live in south-western Colombia, in the department of Cauca, have been enjoying their locally made Coca Pola for four years.

But Coca-Cola is now threatening to sue them over the drink made by the Paez people – also known as the Nasa people – because they say it is too similar to its own.

The name of Coca Pola, a beer produced from the coca leaf by the Coca Nasa company, is asked to be changed due to its similarities to the brands owned by Coca Cola. (@coconasa/Newsflash)

Coca-Cola is requesting that the Paez, who live in south-western Colombia, in the department of Cauca, “cease and permanently refrain from using the name Coca Pola or any similar term that may be confused with proprietary brands” of Coca-Cola according to local media reports,

Coca Pola is a beer produced by the Coca Nasa company, an indigenous enterprise that sells different foods, medicines, aromatics, and other beverages based on the coca leaf, which is a sacred plant for indigenous communities despite also being used to make the illegal drug cocaine.

Its name comes from the term “pola”, which is a term for beer in Colombia and “coca”, a diminutive for the plant that is the raw material for cocaine, according to local media.

The South American country is the world’s largest producer of the drug. The original recipe for Coca-Cola contained cocaine as an ingredient, legend has it.

Indigenous leader Fabiola Pinacue, who is one of the people behind the the Coca Nasa venture in Colombia, took to Twitter on Friday (10th December) and said: “I publicly denounce that Coca-Cola sends its lawyers to prohibit us from using the name of coca in our coca products, they threaten legal lawsuits in the coming days. First thieves, now buffoons.

“Respect the indigenous peoples!”

The American soft drinks giant has reportedly indicated in a letter that the use of this name would go against the trademark law in Colombia and could “constitute a violation of the law of Unfair Competition” which would allow “to initiate a civil action for trademark infringement against unauthorized uses.” .

Its use “could go against the trademark law in Colombia”, and “it may also constitute a violation of the Unfair Competition law”, and these “intellectual property” regulations would allow it to “initiate a civil action for trademark infringement against of unauthorised uses”, according to a legal document dated 26th November and drawn up by a law firm called Brigard Castro.

The name of Coca Pola, a beer produced from the coca leaf by the Coca Nasa company, is asked to be changed due to its similarities to the brands owned by Coca Cola. (@coconasa/Newsflash)

The letter reportedly added that the Coca Pola beer name was “very similar from the orthographic and phonetic perspective to the brand of my principal, which could generate confusion in the market and suppose an improper use of the reputation of TCCC ( The Coca-Cola Company)”.

David Curtidor, a legal officer of Coca Nasa, said it was not the first time that the multinational has threatened them.

He said: “We are going to go as far as Coca-Cola takes us.”

He added: “If they threaten our very existence, then we are going to resist.”

With a production of 7,000 beers per month, Coca Pola has reportedly been manufactured for four years and employs about 22 people.

Coca-Cola sent the letter to Tierra de Indio, a distributor of the Coca Pola drink, and gave them a period of 10 working days to respond to the request.

Curtidor said: “They will surely initiate a legal action on Tuesday or Wednesday, which is when the warning time expires, according to their own promise, unless we stop using the term Coca Pola. And since we are not going to stop using it, we will be waiting for the lawsuit. and we will be answering.

He added: “We have already faced them and it may sound a little rude but we are not afraid of them.”

Pinacue also tweeted that Coca-Cola was “The drink of DEATH” and that it “pretends that only they can use my sacred and ancient Coca leaf.

“It is they who discredit Coca with their drink with excess sugar and caffeine, which causes serious illnesses to people.”

Netizens seemed to agree, with ‘QuenaRibadeneir’ saying: “All my solidarity dear Fabiola, Coca Nasa is ancestral and it is here to stay!”