Cohiba Ownership

[labmonkey]

Not sure if this is old news to some, but thought I would post it anyway.

-lab-

For Immediate Release
February 24, 2005
Contact: Victoria McKee
General Cigar Co., Inc.
212.448.3824
vmckee@gcigar.com




APPEALS COURT CONFIRMS GENERAL CIGAR’S OWNERSHIP OF COHIBA TRADEMARK IN THE U.S.

NEW YORK, February 24, 2005—The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has ruled today in favor of General Cigar Co., Inc. in a lawsuit filed by Cubatabaco in 1997 over trademark ownership of the Cohiba® brand in the United States.

The Second Circuit held that “General Cigar’s legal right to the Cohiba mark has been established as against Cubatabaco. General Cigar has a right to use the mark in the United States because it owns the mark in the United States.”

As a result of the ruling, General Cigar will be able to continue to manufacture the Cohiba brand and market it in the U.S.

General Cigar received its first registration of the Cohiba trademark in the U.S. in 1981, and again in 1992. The company has sold its Dominican Cohiba cigar in the U.S. since the early 1980s.
Cubatabaco filed this lawsuit against General Cigar in 1997, claiming rights to the Cohiba name in the U.S., nearly two decades after General Cigar first applied for registration.

Edgar M. Cullman, Jr., president and CEO of General Cigar commented, “We always believed we owned the U.S. rights to the brand and are pleased that the appeals court ruled in our favor.”

“As an attorney, this decision is gratifying,” said Nick Simeonidis, senior vice president and general counsel of General Cigar, “because it is a landmark decision in the areas of trademark law and law governing the Cuban embargo.”

“Now that a federal court has confirmed our rights to the Cohiba brand, we intend to focus our attention on violation of our trademark by sellers of counterfeit Cohiba cigars sold in the U.S., ” promised Cullman.

The Cohiba line of premium cigars is handcrafted in the Dominican Republic and is a favorite among cigar connoisseurs. In addition to the Cohiba hallmark line, General Cigar manufactures and markets Cohiba XV which was introduced in 2001.

About General Cigar
The maker of Macanudo, America’s best selling premium cigar, as well as a number of other top-selling brands, General Cigar Co., Inc. manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. The company also grows its own Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco and operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. General Cigar is based in New York City and sells through tobacconists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

® Cohiba and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co., Inc.

[cockyhoskins]

Unfortunately, this is a potentially bad decision that has more to do with the Budweisers of the world than this individual case. I think it will be appealed to the Supreme Court, which will take the case due to its overriding impact on such companies as Budweiser.

Now, when the embargo is lifted on Cuba and the Cuban government wants to reintroduce its Cohiba, Montecristo, etc., names to the US, they potentially won't be able to.

Yes, I know the history of Castro stealing these companies from the owners during his rise to power, but it doesn't change the fact that those companies are now "owned" by the Cuban government and exercised their trademark rights prior to the embargo.

[hex1848]

I personally applaud this decision. Cohiba was a trademark established after the revolution by Fidel Castro and his cronies. IMHO trademarks established my dictatorships should hold no weight in the international community.

My grandfather owned a huge factory in Cuba prior to the revolution. He lost everything he had and had to start over here. Will the property my family owned be returned to us when Castro dies? I doubt it.

[cockyhoskins]

hex, as I said, I am not discounting the history of how the Cuban government got their ownership. I just think from a trademark (as opposed to copyright) law standpoint, it is a potentially bad decision.

You are right about Cohiba though. It is a label created by Castro after the embargo. It may be a good decision there (which is probably why General Cigar used that label in this case). However, what about H. Upmann, Montecristo, RyJ, Bolivar, and so on.