Pernod loses appeal over Havana Club
15 August 2011
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Simon Crompton, London
The Havana Club trade mark saga has stumbled on one more step, with Pernod Ricard losing an appeal in the side show of a false advertising case
On August 4 the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the lower court's decision that Bacardi's Havana Club drink does not constitute false advertising, as it clearly states on the label that the rum is made in Puerto Rico.
The long-running dispute between Pernod Ricard and Bacardi goes back to the Cuban Revolution in 1960, when the state seized production of Havana Club and later created a joint venture with Pernod Ricard to sell it outside the US. The US has since had a trade embargo on Cuban products, allowing Bacardi to sell its own version of the drink there (see timeline below).
Pernod has lost all cases in the US, but won them elsewhere in the world. Bacardi finally failed in its attempt to enforce trade mark rights in Spain at the Supreme Court...
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