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[gavinmacqueen]

Do I need to worry about trademark and/or copyright infringement if I was to sell copies of my grandfather's sketch of the contour Coca-Cola bottle. My grandfather designed the contour coca-cola bottle in 1915. The sketch which he drew, before producing the first prototypes, is in my possession and to this day has never been seen by the public. I would like to produce copies of the sketch and sell them, but I'm concerned that it might be infringing on the Coca-Cola Company's copyrights. I'm wondering if this drawing can be considered public domain, but I'm not sure since it seems to fall under an unusual set of circumstances.   

[JSonnabend]

If the sketch is an original, then it shouldn't be copyright infringement to sell it.  Selling copies of it is likely ok as well from the copyright perspective, unless Coca Cola claims that the sketch was done as a work for hire.

From the trademark perspective, I can't imagine the sketch would cause confusion or dilute the Coke mark, so I would imagine you're clear on the trademark front.  Of course, you'll get advice you can actually rely on if you speak directly with an attorney.

- Jeff