President Joe Biden Signs Law Banning ‘Stolen’ Cuban Trademarks Like Havana Club Rum

A view of Havana Club rum in Trinidad, Cuba, on January 21, 2020. (Photo: Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via AP)

On Sunday, President Joe Biden signed a law barring the recognition of trademarks confiscated by the Cuban government under Fidel Castro. The legislation represents a major win for Bacardi, which has long feuded with spirits giant Pernod Ricard over the Havana Club rum brand.

The law, titled “No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act of 2023,” bans U.S. courts and agencies from “enforcing or validating” trademarks seized during the Cuban Revolution. Though the act itself makes no mention of brand names,  a congressional report specifies that the dispute over Havana Club is the main pretext for the ruling.

The move provoked an immediate backlash from Cuban authorities.

“The so called ‘Stolen Trademarks Act’ signed by Biden modifies the law into an aggressive measure against #Cuba, precisely with the purpose of opening up the door, in violation of International Law, to the theft of Cuban Trademarks that are legally registered in that country,” Cuba foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez Parilla wrote on X. 

According to The Spirits Business, Pernod Ricard is similarly disappointed by the news, saying that the law “calls into question its longstanding rights to the Havana Club trademark in the United States … legitimately held since 1976.”

The rum was conceived in 1934 by the Cuba-based José Arechabala S.A. company. Little over two decades later, it was among hundreds of brands nationalized and subsequently operated by the Cuban government. French firm Pernod Ricard, owner of Absolut Vodka and Kahlua, entered a 50:50 deal with Cubaexport in 1993 to begin selling the rum abroad.

Bacardi, which had been exiled from the island in 1960, had plans of its own. The company inked an agreement in 1994 to acquire the original Havana Club recipe from Ramón Arechabala, the direct descendant of brand founder José Arechabala.

Bacardi’s version of Havana Club — produced in Puerto Rico — is what’s currently available in the U.S., while Pernod Ricard’s version is sold in most international markets.

The tepid arrangement has been subject to myriad lawsuits in court. The Obama administration recognized Cubaexport’s claim to the rum brand in 2016, paving the way for a legal battle against the U.S. Patent Trademark Office that began in 2021, was dismissed and then successfully revived in July of this year.

The “Stolen Trademarks Act” nullifies the Obama administration’s ruling and bolsters Bacardi’s case against the USPTO.