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Home > What's New > Judge Rules in Favor of Cubatabaco
Judge Rules in Favor of Cubatabaco
Posted: Tuesday, March 30, 2004
By Michael Moretti
The U.S. Southern District Court of New York ruled in favor of Cubatabaco, a Cuban government-owned tobacco company, last Friday on a lawsuit against General Cigar Holdings concerning trademark ownership of the Dominican Cohiba brand.
The ruling blocks General Cigar, a New York-based unit of Swedish Match, from selling Cohiba cigars in the United States, saying the company does not own rights to the brand.
Edgar M. Cullman, Jr., president and CEO of General Cigar responded to the ruling in a press release. "We are obviously disappointed in the judge's ruling," said Cullman. "Based on our long-standing U.S. registration of the Cohiba brand and Cubatabaco's acquiescence for almost two decades, we marketed this brand with the confidence that we owned the mark. We intend to appeal this decision and feel confident that it will be overturned."
Cubatabaco first filed the lawsuit in 1997, in which General argued that Cubatabaco never attempted to register the Cohiba trademark in the United States, "failing to take any action for 20 years." Cubatabaco argued that it had rights to the Cohiba name via international trademarks.
In July 2002, both parties sought summary judgment, but were denied, forcing the case to trial. At that time, Judge Robert Sweet, who also ruled on the recent trial, found that General's first registration of the Cohiba trademark had been abandoned in the 1980s, according to a 2002 General Cigar press release, and that the case should be resolved on the basis of its second registration obtained in 1995.
General first registered the Cohiba name in the United States in 1981. General sold the cigars in very limited quantities at first, unbanded and unboxed until 1997 when the "red dot" Cohiba was released.
More information on the lawsuit and General's appeal to come. Also in Cigar News:
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