Copyright war feared with Cuba

[Say_What]

<clips>

Many companies expect retaliation after U.S. refuses to renew trademark for rum enterprise.
By Mathew Haggman -- McClatchy Newspapers

Published 12:01 am PDT Monday, September 4, 2006

MIAMI -- In 1918 the Aunt Jemima trademark was registered in Cuba, and even after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, a steady stream of U.S. companies from Ace Hardware to United Airlines continued to register their trademarks in the island nation.

Despite the decades-long U.S. economic embargo that precludes most trade with Cuba, more than 400 U.S. companies have registered in excess of 5,000 trademarks -- everything from McDonald's Golden Arches to Nike's famed Swoosh and Pepsi. And until recently, Cuba had no problem registering and renewing trademarks in the United States.

Now some fear the recent U.S. refusal to renew the Havana Club rum trademark claimed by a Cuban joint venture and Bacardi's launch of Havana Club -- a brand it also claims -- has placed the delicate balance of respecting other nations' trademarks in jeopardy. The recent developments also raise the possibility of Cuban retaliation, experts say.

Bacardi's fight with Cubaexport, a Cuban company that partnered with French liquor giant Pernod Ricard in 1993 to sell the rum around the world, has been simmering in U.S. courts, Congress and in the World Trade Organization for a decade. But the United States' recent decision to invalidate Cubaexport's Havana Club trademark registration really fanned the flames.

For the time being, there are two Havana Clubs -- one distilled in Puerto Rico by Bacardi and sold in the United States and another made in Cuba and distributed around the world.

"Our government has done a real injustice that will come back to bite a lot of other companies," said William Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council. The council, which is based in Washington, represents corporate members such as Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Caterpillar and General Motors.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/story/14317282p-15234865c.html

[MADem]

1. I always thought Bacardi was lousy rum, nothing more

I always preferred Jamaican rum, if I was gonna have any rum at all.

In my dotage, I'm not much of a rum fan. Years can pass without any passing my gums!

[ThsMchneKilsFascists]

2. boycottbacardi.com is a misleading link to search domain

where apparently you can click to order bacardi for 75% off
thought you might want to know

[robcon]

3. It's not a copyright problem, it's a trademark problem

I used to work for Pernod-Ricard, and Havana Club is the #2 rum in Europe (#1 in Italy) and what Bacardi is trying to do in the world's largest rum market, the U.S., is criminal.

[Ghost Dog]

4. There is only ONE genuine Havana Club

(3, 5, 7 year-old and specials), eternamente (available in just about every bar (and there are many) in Spain):

http://www.havana-club.com/

...And, don't get me on the subject of the more oriental (Santiago) rums like Old Methusalen's "Pati Cruzao"...