U.S. Government Resolves Havana Club Dispute in Bacardi's Favor; Cuba's Trademark...

MIAMI -- Bacardi U.S.A. applauds the long-awaited decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) declaring that Cuba's registration of the HAVANA CLUB trademark is "cancelled/expired." The decision means that the Cuban government can no longer claim any rights to the mark in the United States. Bacardi -- which owns the rights to the brand based on use and as a successor to the original owners -- has a pending application to register the mark in its own name. E[acute accent]The PTO's action, dated August 3, comes just six days after the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) denied a Cuban government agency a specific license that was necessary to seek renewal of the trademark registration at the PTO. E[acute accent]Bacardi purchased the HAVANA CLUB brand from the original owners, whose brand and other assets were confiscated by the Cuban government without compensation. E[acute accent]"Bacardi commends OFAC and the PTO for following U.S. law and worldwide principles that prevent registration or renewal of trademarks obtained through confiscation, without compensation to the original owners," said John P. Esposito, President and CEO of Bacardi U.S.A. E[acute accent]The OFAC and PTO decisions are watershed events in the ten-year dispute between Bacardi and the Cuban government and its French partner over the rights to the HAVANA CLUB trademark in the United States. In a case that went all the way up to the Supreme Court, the U.S. courts ruled that the Cuban-French joint venture had no rights to the trademark. Bacardi continued to fight the Cuban government's claim to the U.S. registration in the PTO and the courts, even though by law that claim cannot be recognized or enforced in the U.S. Now Cuba's registration has finally been declared expired and cancelled. E[acute accent]Bacardi has been preparing for a relaunch of Havana Club rum in the United States.

E[acute accent]About Bacardi

E[acute accent]Bacardi U.S.A. is the import, sales, and marketing arm of one of the world's leading wine and spirits producers. Bacardi U.S.A. boasts a brand portfolio of some the United States' most recognized and top selling spirits including: BACARDI rum, the favorite spirit in the U.S. and favorite rum in the world; GREY GOOSE vodka, the world leader in ultra premium vodka; MARTINI & ROSSI vermouth, the world leader in Vermouth; DEWAR'S scotch whisky, the favorite selling blended scotch whisky in the United States; BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin, the best selling super premium gin in the U.S.; and CAZADORE blue agave tequila, the top selling 100% blue agave tequila in the world and other fine brands.

E[acute accent]Havana Club Background:

E[acute accent]Havana Club rum was created in Cuba in 1935 by Jose Arechabala S.A., a company owned by the Arechabala family. The Arechabalas registered the trademark in the U.S. in 1935 and sold their rum in the U.S. over a twenty year period. The Castro regime seized the Arechabala business without compensation in 1960 and the Arechabalas were forced into exile, except for the company lawyer who was imprisoned for ten years. The Arechabala family had no means to make rum outside Cuba but always planned to resume producing and marketing Havana Club rum as soon as they could do so. Those plans became possible in the 1990s, when the Arechabalas formed an alliance with Bacardi. E[acute accent]In 1976, after the Arechabala family's HAVANA CLUB trademark registration expired, Cubaexport (a Cuban government agency) registered the mark in the U.S. through a loophole in the trade embargo. In 1993 the Cuban government established a joint venture with the French liquor company Pernod Ricard to exploit the brand. E[acute accent]Congress closed the loophole in the Cuban embargo in 1998, when it passed a law to prevent registration, renewal or recognition of rights to trademarks confiscated without compensation by Cuba, except with the consent of the rightful owners. E[acute accent]As a result of the OFAC and PTO action, Cuba's registration has not been renewed and has been declared expired and cancelled. This confirms that Cuba has no rights in the HAVANA CLUB trademark in the United States.