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Home > What's New > General Cigar Wins Appeal of Cohiba Suit
General Cigar Wins Appeal of Cohiba Suit
Posted: Thursday, February 24, 2005
By David Savona
Don't throw away that red-dot Cohiba just yet. Today the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City ruled in favor of General Cigar Co. in its Cohiba lawsuit.
"General Cigar has a right to use the mark in the United States because it owns the mark in the United States," said the court, according to a release filed this afternoon by General.
Cubatabaco, the state-run company that owns Cuba's cigar trademarks, sued General Cigar in 1997 over the Cohiba mark, trying to cancel General's trademark in the United States.
On March 26, 2004, an American judge cancelled General's trademark of Cohiba, ruling in favor of Cubatabaco. General appealed, and continued to sell the cigars, which have a band featuring a red dot. They look quite unlike the Cohibas made in Cuba, which have black, gold and white bands.
General Cigar's general counsel Nick Simeonidis called this "a landmark decision in the areas of trademark law and governing the Cuban embargo."
On Tuesday, Swedish Match AB announced it was acquiring the remaining stake in General Cigar from the Cullman family for undisclosed terms. The company is a subsidiary of Swedish Match.
This is a developing story. Check back to Cigar Aficionado Online for comment from Habanos S.A. as well as interviews with executives of General Cigar and Swedish Match.
Image Design by Miguel Nuñez
Click here to read about other big news at General, the sale of the company to Swedish Match. Also in Cigar News:
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