With the United States and Cuba moving toward normalizing relations, the last vestiges of the Cold War are fading. But two companies that have been locked in a rum war for more than two decades show no signs of ending their legal battle over who has the right to use the Havana Club trademark in the United States.
Bacardi Ltd. has revived a federal lawsuit against Havana Club Holdings and Cubaexport, the Cuban state-owned foreign trade enterprise responsible for exporting products. In an amended complaint filed with U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., the company is asking the court to cancel the Cuban government’s U.S. trademark for Havana Club because it engaged in “elaborate, misleading, fraudulent and deceptive activities” when obtaining and renewing the Havana Club trademark registration in the U.S.
