Cuban Cigar Company Will Continue Fight for COHIBA Trademark in US

Cuban Cigar Company Will Continue Fight for COHIBA Trademark in U.S.

PR Newswire

HAVANA, June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite a setback in the U.S. Supreme
Court, CUBATABACO, the Cuban cigar company, announced today that it will
continue to fight for the rights to the COHIBA trademark in the United
States. COHIBA is Cuba's most renowned cigar brand, but cannot be sold
in the U.S. because of the U.S. economic, commercial and financial
blockade against Cuba.

Cubatabaco made its announcement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's
June 19, 2006 order denying review of a lower court ruling that, in the
absence of specific U.S. government permission, the U.S. blockade bars
Cubatabaco from obtaining judicial protection of its COHIBA trademark in
the United States. Cubatabaco will now pursue its pending application
for U.S. government permission from the Treasury Department's Office of
Foreign Assets Control, which administers the U.S. blockade.

In its amicus curiae brief filed in the Supreme Court, the United States
specifically acknowledged that Cubatabaco could pursue this option. If
granted, U.S. government permission would allow Cubatabaco to seek
judicial protection for its COHIBA trademark despite the blockade.

Cubatabaco is attempting to stop General Cigar Co., Inc., a major U.S.
cigar company, from using the COHIBA trademark for cigars in the U.S. In
April 2004, Judge Robert W. Sweet, of the United States District Court
in New York, issued a judgment in Cubatabaco's favor, after finding that
that the Cuban COHIBA was "famous" among U.S. consumers before General
Cigar began using the trademark. Without reaching the merits of Judge
Sweet's ruling, the court of appeals in New York vacated the district
court judgment on the ground that a U.S. government license was needed
to grant relief to Cubatabaco.

In seeking U.S. government permission, Cubatabaco will emphasize the
United States' international obligations to protect "well-known"
trademarks, such as COHIBA, under the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property, a multilateral treaty, and TRIPs, a
WTO agreement. Cubatabaco will also emphasize reciprocity: Cuba has
permitted hundreds of U.S. companies to register and maintain over 5,000
trademarks in Cuba.

Cuba's world-famous COHIBA is generally considered Cuba's finest cigar,
and is made entirely of Cuban-grown tobacco. The Cuban COHIBA
consistently attains the highest ratings in U.S. cigar publications,
ranking well ahead of General Cigar's Cohiba-labeled Dominican cigar.

The Cuban COHIBA always bears the famous Cuban COHIBA trade dress, which
Cubatabaco indisputably owns in the United States. Cubatabaco will
vigorously defend against any infringement of its COHIBA trade dress.
General Cigar has no right to use the Cuban COHIBA trade dress and has
no access to genuine Cuban tobacco, which is responsible for the
unparalleled quality of the authentic Cuban COHIBA.

For Further Information, contact: Michael Krinsky, Esq. or David
Goldstein, Esq. Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, P.C.
New York, New York 10006-1901 Telephone: 917 929 6051 or 212 254 1111
Ext. 103 Email: mkrinsky@rbskl.com, or dgoldstein@rbskl.com U.S.
attorneys for Cubatabaco Adargelio Garrido Legal Advisor to Cubatabaco
for Intellectual Property Havana, Cuba Telephone: 011 537 204 0528
E-mail: agarrido@habanos.cuCubatabaco

Source: PR Newswire
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=38952