About 120 years ago Coke started being sold in Panama for the first time, the first café to popularize it in Panama City was a then 30 year old lunch counter known as Nueve Puertas (Nine Doors). Within a couple years Nueve Puertas changed their name to The Coca-Cola Café.
So why didn’t Coke jump all over them with a trademark claim? Mostly because the trademark system didn’t really exist at the time. Eventually when trademark agreements were established between the US and Panama the now 50 year old café had already been using the Coca-Cola name for 20 years.
Eventually the café and the Coca-Cola Corporation agreed that the café could use the name in perpetuity, free of charge, so long as they stocked Coca-Cola beverages.
Today the nearly 150 year old restaurant, the oldest in the country, is the only establishment in the world allowed to use the Coca-Cola name.
A Bit Gone 