JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
1. The appellants herein are limited liability companies and franchisees of a multinational corporation, the Coca-Cola Company. Pursuant to the franchise agreements, the appellants hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company to manufacture liquid soda under Trade Marks owned by the Coca-Cola Company and to package, sell, distribute, and merchandise the packaged products to wholesalers and retailers.
2. In the course of their business, the appellants have set up a model of distribution of the products using returnable bottles and plastic crates for packing, distributing and delivering the packaged products. It is important to note that both the glass bottles and crates are returnable to the appellants by distributors, wholesalers, retailers and everyone else down the supply chain. To ensure return of the bottles and crates, all suppliers are charged a predetermined deposit for each bottle and/or crate refundable upon return of the same.
3. On diverse date…