US court rules in favor of Cuban cigar business

On February 23, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cuba's state-owned cigar company Cubatabaco in a dispute over the famous Cohiba cigar brand with the US company General Cigar.

Photo is for illustration purposes only. Source: habanos.com

Due to the US embargo policy, Cubatabaco is not allowed to sell this famous cigar in the US market, although it is still widely sold in other countries around the world, and General Cigar has taken advantage of this factor to sell cigars produced in the Dominican Republic under the above brand.

In its final ruling, the US Supreme Court refused to hear General Cigar's defense and thereby accepted Cubatabaco's right to protect its trademark in the US, despite not being able to sell its products.

Since April 2013, Cuba has accused the US of “stealing” the copyrights of some of the Caribbean island nation’s famous products, after a lower court ruled in favor of General Cigar in a lawsuit against Cubatabaco, but this decision was later overturned by an appeals court.

This is considered another positive signal in the progress of relations between the US and Cuba. Previously, in the move to ease the embargo, the US Government also allowed its citizens visiting Cuba to bring back wine and cigars with a total value of no more than 100 USD.

According to Vietnam+