The fight over Havana Club Rum took another turn this week, as the American government renewed the brand’s trademark for Pernod Ricard.
The renewal of the trademark registration in the United States is valid through January 27, 2026.
Bacardi has disputed the decision since the government temporarily renewed the trademark for Pernod Ricard in January. Bacardi believes that it has the rights to Havana Club Rum in America.
Havana Club Rum’s founding family fled Cuba in 1960. The family failed to renew the brand name in 1973, and Cuba took ownership of the trademark three years later. The country and Pernod Ricard sell about 4 million 9-liter cases of Havana Club outside the U.S. a year.
Bacardi maintains that Cuba confiscated the trademark illegally, while Bacardi obtained it in America through legal means. Bacardi testified before Congress last week in defense of its position. The case will proceed in U.S. court.
Said Ian FitzSimons, General Counsel of Pernod Ricard, in a press release: “We are confident that Cubaexport, the Cuban entity that owns the U.S. trademark registration for Havana Club rum, will prevail in defending its registration in the pending litigation.”
