A decision by Johnson & Johnson, the giant health care conglomerate, to sue the American Red Cross last year for commercializing the Red Cross symbol may be turning into a bit of a disaster for the company.

This week the company lost the second round in its trademark dispute against the disaster relief agency when a federal judge in Manhattan threw out most of the case.

In a decision late Wednesday, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of United States District Court said the Congressional charter for the Red Cross gave it the right to use the symbol  a Greek red cross against a white background  even for business purposes.

The company and the Red Cross had amicably shared use of the symbol for more than a century through an agreement signed in 1895. Johnson & Johnson has also used the symbol on packaging for many of its consumer health products, like Band-Aids.