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Found this in the New York Daily News
Cohiba cigar
suit snuffed out
Makers of the cigar Fidel Castro made famous were fuming yesterday after an appeals court sent its trademark infringement lawsuit against a New York company up in smoke.
The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Cuban company Cubatabaco does not have the exclusive naming rights to Cohiba in the United States. The three-judge panel cited the 42-year-old Cuban embargo as reason for stubbing out Cubatabaco's stogie battle against New York-based General Cigar.
"It's been a long, expensive battle to beat them," said General Cigar lawyer John Kirby after the court declared the company owner of the Cohiba mark in the U.S.
Cubatabaco sued in 1997 when General Cigar came out with its own $20 Cohiba, hand-rolled with tobacco from the Dominican Republic and the Cameroons. Officials from Cubatabaco, which is owned by the Cuban government, declined to comment on the legal setback.
But if it's any consolation, Cubatabaco's Cohiba - made especially for Castro after the Cuban revolution - is still considered the Cadillac of cigars for lovers of lighting up.
Cigar Aficionado magazine once compared the Cuban Cohiba to a "superb main course at a Michelin three-star restaurant."
Robert Gearty
Originally published on February 25, 2005
Cohiba cigar
suit snuffed out
Makers of the cigar Fidel Castro made famous were fuming yesterday after an appeals court sent its trademark infringement lawsuit against a New York company up in smoke.
The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Cuban company Cubatabaco does not have the exclusive naming rights to Cohiba in the United States. The three-judge panel cited the 42-year-old Cuban embargo as reason for stubbing out Cubatabaco's stogie battle against New York-based General Cigar.
"It's been a long, expensive battle to beat them," said General Cigar lawyer John Kirby after the court declared the company owner of the Cohiba mark in the U.S.
Cubatabaco sued in 1997 when General Cigar came out with its own $20 Cohiba, hand-rolled with tobacco from the Dominican Republic and the Cameroons. Officials from Cubatabaco, which is owned by the Cuban government, declined to comment on the legal setback.
But if it's any consolation, Cubatabaco's Cohiba - made especially for Castro after the Cuban revolution - is still considered the Cadillac of cigars for lovers of lighting up.
Cigar Aficionado magazine once compared the Cuban Cohiba to a "superb main course at a Michelin three-star restaurant."
Robert Gearty
Originally published on February 25, 2005