Appeals Court Confirms General Cigar's Ownership of Cohiba Trademark in The U.S.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has ruled today in favor of General Cigar Co., Inc. in a lawsuit filed by Cubatabaco in 1997 over trademark ownership of the Cohiba(R) brand in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . The Second Circuit held that "General Cigar's legal right to the Cohiba mark has been established as against Cubatabaco. General Cigar has a right to use the mark in the United States because it owns the mark in the United States." As a result of the ruling, General Cigar will be able to continue to manufacture the Cohiba brand and market it in the U.S. General Cigar received its first registration of the Cohiba trademark in the U.S. in 1981, and again in 1992. The company has sold its Dominican Cohiba cigar in the U.S. since the early 1980s. Cubatabaco filed this lawsuit against General Cigar in 1997, claiming rights to the Cohiba name in the U.S., nearly two decades after General Cigar first applied for registration. Edgar M. Cullman, Jr., president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of General Cigar, commented, "We always believed we owned the U.S. rights to the brand and are pleased that the appeals court ruled in our favor." "As an attorney, this decision is gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. ," said Nick Simeonidis, senior vice president and general counsel of General Cigar, "because it is a landmark decision A landmark decision is the outcome of a legal case (often thus referred to as a landmark case) that establishes a precedent that either substantially changes the interpretation of the law or that simply establishes new case law on a particular issue. in the areas of trademark law and law governing the Cuban embargo." "Now that a federal court has confirmed our rights to the Cohiba brand, we intend to focus our attention on violation of our trademark by sellers of counterfeit Cohiba cigars sold in the U.S.," promised Cullman. The Cohiba line of premium cigars is handcrafted hand·craft n. Variant of handicraft. tr.v. hand·craft·ed, hand·craft·ing, hand·crafts To fashion or make by hand. hand·craft in the Dominican Republic and is a favorite among cigar connoisseurs. In addition to the Cohiba hallmark line, General Cigar manufactures and markets Cohiba XV which was introduced in 2001. About General Cigar The maker of Macanudo, America's best selling premium cigar, as well as a number of other top-selling brands, General Cigar Co., Inc. manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. The company also grows its own Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco and operates Club Macanudo(R), a cigar bar in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . General Cigar is based in New York City and sells through tobacconists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com. (R) Cohiba and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co., Inc. |
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