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22 February 2017Trademarks

Apparel company tries to cancel Havana Club TMs

A US-based apparel company has filed a lawsuit at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seeking to cancel two trademarks owned by Havana Club.

PEI Licensing filed its suit on February 10.

The suit concerns two marks called ‘Vera Cuba’, which were registered at the USPTO in 2012.

The marks cover rum produced in Cuba.

PEI owns trademarks for the term ‘Cuba Vera’, dating back to 2003.

The ‘Cuba Vera’ marks cover goods such as clothes, eyewear and footwear.

In October last year, PEI filed a mark for ‘Cuba Vera’ protecting goods including rum, beverage mixers and food to be sold in grocery shops.

PEI argued in its suit that the ‘Vera Cuba’ marks should be cancelled because the company has been damaged by the registrations.

The apparel company also argued that the marks have been abandoned by Havana Club as it has not shown any bona fide use of them in the last three years.

According to the suit, Havana Club’s marks are also invalid under section 44(e) of the Lanham Act.

PEI requested that the trademarks be cancelled and removed from the principal register.

In January last year, the USPTO approved a trademark for the term ‘Havana Club’, reversing a previous decision that banned the Cuban government from marketing the rum with the term in the US.

The approval meant that the Cuban government can sell Havana Club-branded rum in the US once the trade embargo between the countries has been lifted.

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Trademarks
18 January 2016   The US Patent and Trademark Office has approved a trademark for the term ‘Havana Club’, reversing a previous decision that banned the Cuban government from marketing the rum with the term in the US.