A divided appeals court in Washington on Tuesday ruled in favor of the U.S. Treasury Department’s refusal to renew a Cuba company’s trademark for “Havana Club” rum, marking the latest chapter in a long fight between Pernod Ricard and rival Bacardi Ltd. over use of the mark.
In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said a change in the law in 1998 prohibited both new registration of trademarks and renewal of previously registered marks connected to certain Cuban companies. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1976 first approved Cubaexport’s application for the the Havana Club trademark.
