• Miami Herald, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 11 AM

A federal judge dismissed a Cuban lawsuit Monday over the termination of U.S. trademark rights for its Havana Club rum, Elaine Walker reports. It is a victory for Bacardi's effort to take over the brand name as its own in the United States.

Cubaexport, Cuba's state-owned export enterprise, filed the lawsuit appealing a decision in August 2006 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that deemed the current registration on Havana Club trademark "canceled/expired." Cubaexport has a joint venture with Pernod Ricard to sell Havana Club internationally.

"This is a very significant ruling and a watershed moment in a more than 10-year dispute," says Bacardi spokeswoman Patricia Neal. "It reinforces that once again the Cuban government has no rights to the Havana Club trademark in the U.S."

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