Opinion ID: 222510
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Original Havana Club Rum and Its Trademark

Text: This case is the latest battle in a lengthy war between Pernod and Bacardi, two multinational distilleries, over the use of the words Havana Club to sell rum in the United States. Though the convoluted history of the conflict has been recounted at length elsewhere, a portion of it requires retelling. [1] Before the start of the Cuban Revolution, the Arechabala family produced Havana Club brand rum in Cuba, sold it locally, and exported it for sale in the United States. In 1960, following the Communist revolution in Cuba, the Cuban government expropriated the Arechabalas' business without compensation. Three years later, the United States began to enforce a trade embargo against Cuba. The embargo, which continues to this day, generally prevents the importation of Cuban goods and is administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Despite the embargo, the Cuban government in 1976, through a government-owned company called Cubaexport, [2] managed to register with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) the words Havana Club as a trademark for use in connection with rum. In 1994, through a series of transfers, the Cuban government assigned its claimed interests in the Arechabala family's old business to a joint venture (the JV), of which Pernod Ricard, S.A., Pernod's parent corporation, is a member. [3] That transfer included the USPTO registration for the Havana Club mark, and, in 1995, OFAC specifically approved the transfer of the trademark to the JV. However, in 1997, OFAC retroactively revoked its permission for that transfer. The mark then remained registered to Cubaexport until July 2006, when the registration expired after OFAC denied permission for renewal of the mark.