.......through application of the "famous marks doctrine."


This case involves a dispute between General Cigar Company (a United States corporation) and Cubatabaco (a Cuban state-owned entity), centering on the rights to the COHIBA trademark in the United States.


The battle between General Cigar and Cubatabaco arose when the Cuban COHIBA attempted to enforce its trademark registration and claimed the non cuban Cohiba was infringing upon their mark, causing confusion in the market place as to who and where the cigar came from. The courts found that Cubatabaco's claim had merit and beside the regulations attached to the hip of the US's embargo on Cuba, ruled that General Cigar's right to any US trademark on COHIBA should be struck and all property pertaining to the use of the name should be surrendered to the Cuban COHIBA.....

forget the market place confusion - we all know the difference between the Cuban COHIBA and the Non-cuban...

here's the confusion.....


Did the court err in squashing General Cigar's registration of the legit COHIBA and did the court err in ordering General Cigar to surrender property to the Cuban COHIBA...??  I'm confused...how can a forbidden entity enforce property rights, when its illegal for Cuban products to be in this United States of America?  I understand that the Office of Foreign Asset Control (u know, the Office that grants officials license to buy and smoke Cuban cigars?) will, and does grant special license in order to circumvent the regulations governing the embargo. I get that - license was granted so the attorney's could get paid to litigate Cubatabaco's claim.  Its illegal for any Cuban national to exchange, any notes, monetary values, all dealings with including, without limitation, transfers, withdrawals, or exportations of any property, with any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States! A Cuban entity paying their US attorney needed special exception, hence, the award of a special license. Well, go figure....even an embargo of the magnitude, strength and stamina of the Cuban embargo doesn't get in the way of the attorney getting paid! IMHO, this stale dated embargo is really a media magnate and has done nothing but increase the thirst of the cigar enthusiast for the "forbidden fruit" aka the Cuban Cigar....

therein lies the strength of the Cuban COHIBA....

Its claim to fame hit the 90's, and cited from the amicus curaie brief presented to the court in relation to the litigation by the US Department of Justice, November 12, 2004....."However, in 1992, a new magazine, Cigar Aficionado, published articles extremely favorable towards the Cuban COHIBA cigars.... General Cigar started using the COHIBA name for one of its premium cigars...." at that juncture, let the litigants begin!

In summary.....and conclusion?

General Cigar first registered the name Cohiba in the United Statesin 1978 and claims to have sold cigars under the Cohiba name in the US in limited quantities through the 1980s until its current incarnation with the so-called "Red Dot" Cohiba, named for the red dot in the middle of the "O" in "Cohiba" on its bands and boxes, in 1997. Cubatabaco, the government-run company in charge of cigars, half-owner of Habanos SA, along with Altadis SA, promptly began a campaign to have General Cigar's trademark revoked and numerous legal battles ensued that were partly resolved on 19 June 2006, when the U. S. Supreme Court denied Cubatabaco's petition. As a result, the February 2005 decision of the U. S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals (Docket #04-2527), which confirmed General Cigar Company’s exclusive ownership of the Cohiba trademark in the United States, is final and is law of the case. The General Cigar-made Cohiba cigars now have a disclaimer on boxes that they are not affiliated in any way with the Cuban brand.

However, the United States government, in an amicus curiae brief filed in the Supreme Court, acknowledged that Cubatabaco could request U.S. government permission for judicial protection of the brand from the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers the U.S. blockade. Cubatabaco has stated that they intend to pursue this course of action.

and so the story goes.....

 the Attorneys get richer....


God Bless America...



Happy Smoking and Longest Ashes to you!

Damsel...

A Life in Transition