Bacardi strikes back in Havana Club dispute

The legal battle over the Havana Club trademark in Spain is set to continue after Bacardi’s appeal of a Madrid Provincial Court’s decision recently. The court ruled in favour of Havana Club International, the joint venture between Cuban company Corporation Cuba Ron and Pernod Ricard, upholding an earlier decision by the Madrid Court of First Instance.

The dispute originated with the seizure of Havana Club distilleries in Cuba, then owned by the Arechabala family, during the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Havana Club International was then formed in 1993, and now exports Havana Club to 124 countries. As a Cuban product, embargos prevent the brand being sold in the US, however. Bacardi, as part of an alliance with the Arechabalas, has since launched Havana Club in the US, whose Supreme Court has not recognised any right to the trademark by Havana Club International.

In a statement following the recent decision in Madrid, Havana Club International has emphasised the fact that the Arechabalas had failed to renew the trademark in Spain, but Bacardi intends to demonstrate "that the Arechabalas had been seeking industry partners for many years in order to relaunch the brand", according to Bacardi spokesperson Patricia Neal.

Neal added that "trademarks are territorial, and civilised nations around the world do not recognise claims to ownership of trademarks based on foreign confiscation." According to Bacardi, the Spanish court did indeed recognise that "confiscation is not a valid right to ownership".

Havana Club International’s CEO, Marc Beuve Mery commented that "this new ruling confirms the indisputable rights of Havana Club Holding to the Havana Club brand." Part of the Madrid Provincial Court’s ruling also argued that international treaties between Spain and Cuba prevent rum produced anywhere other than Cuba from being marketed using the word "Havana".

Bacardi’s appeal has already been accepted by the court, and will now go to the Supreme Court for review.