MIAMI, United States. – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) of Cuba rejected this Tuesday, in a statementthe “No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act,” which was signed in early December by the president Joe Biden.
The regulations, approved unanimously in both chambers of the US Congress, prohibit the recognition of trademarks that have been confiscated by the Cuban regime since 1959 and, in practice, shield Bacardi’s rights over the renowned Havana Club rum brand. on US territory.
“The so-called ‘Law to Not Recognize Stolen Trademarks in the United States’ provides a patent of marque that widens the path to consolidate the theft of legitimately registered Cuban brands,” MINREX complained.
The statement questions the law and describes it as “a new unilateral coercive measure” that “reinforces the blockade against the Cuban economy” and violates the international system of intellectual property protection.
The “Bacardi Law,” as it is popularly known, is considered by the authorities of the Cuban regime to be a direct blow to the economic sovereignty of the Island, as it limits the actions of state-owned companies and extends the prohibition on US federal courts recognizing trademarks confiscated by the Cuban Government, unless the original owner has given consent.
According to the director for the United States of MINREXJohana Tablada, this regulation directly aims to strip the Cubaexport company of its rights to the Havana Club brand, in order to prevent its renewal in the United States in 2026.
From Havana it is criticized that, while the Cuban Government has respected international conventions on the matter – “6,448 US trademarks are registered and protected in Cuba,” according to MINREX – Washington despises international industrial property agreements.
The Foreign Ministry pointed out that this law violates the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, highlighting the “contempt of the United States for the institutions of international law.” ”.
The provision signed by Biden is part of a broader historical context. The long dispute between Cuba and Bacardi over the Havana Club brand dates back to the seizure of the José Arechabala SA company by Fidel Castro’s regime in 1960.
The Arechabala family later sold their rights to Bacardi, which since 1995 has marketed rum under that brand in the United States. Meanwhile, the Cuban State, together with French partner Pernod Ricard, sells the same rum in other countries, although it cannot do so in US territory due to embargo restrictions.
