[null and void]

it’s good news that you can patent a shape?

Yep.

The Coca Cola bottle, for example.

[Kaosinla]

I don’t remember a Coke bottle being used in geometry.

[devolve]

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COKE should sue Michelle Obama’s butt for stealing the shape of the COKE bottle.

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[ken in texas]

The Coca Cola bottle, for example.

Is that a true "patent" or might it be covered by copyright or trademark? Just curious.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“it’s good news that you can patent a shape?”

I don’t have a problem with that. Ny favorite guitar neck company is Warmoth. Fender said, “You’re making our necks! We’re going to sue.”
Warmoth said, “Yeah, we’re making Fender necks. Can we reach a licensing agreement?” They did. And they still make Fender necks that are better Than real Fender necks! Gibson won over their peghead shape. And that was an international case involving Japanese copies of Gibson guitars. And the copies were very good guitars that cost considerably less than Gibson’s inflated prices.

[Alberta's Child]

I may be wrong about this, but my understanding is that patent and trademark law only applies to protection of designs, materials and emblems/shapes to the extent that the holder needs them to identify the unique characteristics of its own product in comparison to other similar products.

Therefore, the protection of the Coca-Cola trademark on the shape of its bottle would only be enforced in terms of its use for other beverages. If a manufacturer of motor oil or laundry detergent, for example, wanted to use the same shape in their bottles and had a brand name that consumers would never confuse with Coca-Cola, then they could probably do it without running into any legal problems.