No Show In Wis. Court Could Cost PepsiCo $1.26B

Van Dyke, with the Chicago law firm Cassiday Schade, said he is drafting a response to PepsiCo's motion. He said he asked for $1.26 billion based on the revenue and profit PepsiCo has made from the Aquafina brand.

If the agreements were enforceable contracts, the plaintiffs may have a case, said Mark Leonard, a partner at Davis and Leonard LLP, in Sacramento, Calif., who focuses on intellectual property. Typically, patents are the best way to protect ideas, he said, but not everything can be patented.

"In the event it was not patentable, which would not surprise me, then the only way to protect that idea would be contractually," he said.

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