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Monday, June 30, 2008
Coca-Cola Sued for Copyright Infringement of Uncle Remus Stories

Posted by: lain // Category: Historic Preservation, Storytelling, Uncle Remus, Marketing Tricks, Good Questions, Historical Quagmires, Ridiculous Demands, Joel Chandler Harris // 10:32 am

From the mailroom–

In 1931 the widow of Joel Chandler Harris sued Coca-Cola for infringing upon the Brer Rabbit “copyright.”

Atlanta Journal Reports that Coca Cola Responds to Uncle Remus Lawsuit

Click the pictures for a better view.  Please pardon the cut-and-paste…the clippings came from someone’s scrapbook and weren’t easily scanned together.

Atlanta Journal Reports that Coca Cola Responds to Uncle Remus Lawsuit in 1931

Slow news day, maybe?

I wonder if Mrs. Harris was upset or short on cash.  Probably both, I suppose.

As you might expect, back in the day the success of the Brer Rabbit stories led many companies to to capitalize on the names “Uncle Remus” or “Brer Rabbit” or “Briar Patch.”

Often, the spirit of the branding was, well, not terribly respectful:

Uncle Remus Brand Syrup

Before someone sent me this news clipping, I hadn’t heard of the Coca-Cola lawsuit.

Does anyone out there have any Brer Rabbit - Uncle Remus - Coca-Cola memorabilia?

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4 Comments


  1. Ida Beth
    Comment // June 30th, 2008 // 12:34 pm

    Looks like we don’t have to worry about using the A.B.Frost illustrations according to the article.

    Tell me she won the case and you just found the 10 million in the attic.


  2. Benjy
    Comment // June 30th, 2008 // 1:29 pm

    When I was a kid, my brother and I spelled out “C O C A C O L A” in bottle caps off of coke bottles, and we got to exchange them for a t-shirt that read “Coke… this is it!” Now, I’m not a professional linguist, but if “This is it” isn’t a direct rip off of “Dis sho’ am good,” I don’t know what is.

    I also think it’s interesting that the Uncle Remus character is holding a can of syrup with a picture of himself holding a can of syrup with a picture of himself holding… well, you get the idea. It’s like back2thefuture or 18again or freakyfriday or something.


  3. The Wren’s Nest » 1932 Coca-Cola Uncle Remus Cutout That Sparked Copyright Lawsuit
    Pingback // July 15th, 2008 // 9:33 am

    […] Last week we discovered that Esther LaRose Harris, widow of Joel Chandler Harris, sued the Coca-Cola Company for copyright infringement in 1931. […]


  4. The Wren’s Nest » Brer Rabbit Molasses: Sweet Sassy Molassy!
    Pingback // July 18th, 2008 // 11:11 am

    […] Who knew characters in Joel Chandler Harris stories had such a corner on the pancake market? […]

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