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COHIBA Cigars – Federal Circuit Revives Cuban Company’s Trademark Claim

In an epic, 17-year litigation against a leading U.S. cigar company, we have succeeded in reviving the long-standing claim of Cubatabaco, the Cuban cigar company, to the U.S. trademark rights to COHIBA, the world’s most famous cigar brand. On June 4, 2014, the United State Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (“TTAB”) dismissing the Cuban company’s petition to cancel …
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History of Cubatabaco’s Fight for U.S. Rights to the COHIBA Trademark

General Cigar, a U.S. company, first registered the COHIBA trademark in 1981, after learning that the Cuban COHIBA was Cuban President Fidel Castro’s favorite. General Cigar discontinued its very limited sales of COHIBA-labeled cigars at least from 1987 to late 1992. When the premier issue of Cigar Aficionado prominently proclaimed the Cuban COHIBA as the world’s best cigar in Fall 1992, General Cigar applied for a second registration, recognizing that …
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Sovereign Immunity and Anti-Terrorism Judgments

We have been successful in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in defeating efforts to execute upon the patents and trademark registrations of 20 Cuban enterprises and research institutes, as well as upon the Republic of Cuba’s certification mark for Cuban cigars, in satisfaction of a $200 million default judgment against the Republic of Cuba. In Jerez v. Republic of Cuba, No. 09-466, 2013 WL 4578999 …
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