(EUROPA PRESS).- The Court of the United States Patent and Trademark Office has ruled in favor of the Cuban Tobacco Company (Cubatabaco) and has ordered the cancellation of Cohiba registrations by General Cigar in the country in under the Inter-American Convention for the Protection of Trademarks and Commerce (1929), to which both Cuba and the United States are parties.
Specifically, the cancellation of General Cigar’s registrations opens the way for Cubatabaco to register the Cohiba brand in the United States, since it has exclusive rights to the brand, as reported by the Cuban firm in a statement.
Habanos, the world leader in the commercialization of premium Cuban cigars, including Cohiba, has celebrated the ruling in favor of Cubatabaco after decades of fighting for the rights to the Cohiba trademark for cigars in the United States.
In this way, the Court of the Office of Trademarks and Patents has ordered the cancellation of the Cohiba registrations by General Cigar after the legal proceedings initiated by Cubatabaco.
Specifically, the cancellation of General Cigar’s registrations opens the way for Cubatabaco to register the Cohiba brand in the United States, since it has exclusive rights to the brand.
The Court found that General Cigar knew that Cohiba was the name of a Cuban cigar when it first applied to register this trademark in March 1978. Among other evidence, the Board pointed to internal memos in General Cigar files discovered by Cubababaco indicating that Cohiba was already a “brand in Cuba” and “Castro’s cigar brand.”
Under the Inter-American Convention for Trade and Trademark Protection (1929), to which both Cuba and the United States are parties, countries are obliged to reject or cancel a registration when the applicant, in this case, General Cigar, knew that the mark was already being used in another treaty country. Despite this, General Cigar has been selling cigars in the US under the well-known name Cohiba.
Cubatabaco’s fight for the rights to recover this brand in the United States dates back more than 25 years, when it first filed a case before the TTAB in 1997. The litigation between Cubatabaco and General Cigar included protracted proceedings in federal courts, as well as before the Tribune of the Office of Trademarks and Patents.
In this way, after the decision of the Court of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the North American company General Cigar has the right to appeal the sentence.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for accompanying us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
