Cohiba vs. Cohiba

A new decision in the decades-long battle between Cubatabaco and General Cigar over the cigar world’s most precious brand

-  BY GREGORY MOTTOLA

Cohiba is arguably the most valuable trademark in the world of premium cigars. It’s also the most contested. A legal battle for Cuba’s flagship luxury cigar brand has been going on for nearly 30 years—and untold dollars have been spent on litigation—but the raging fight for the soul of Cohiba just took another turn. After two years of stagnation, the case came back to life when a recent decision by a Virginia court ruled in favor of Cuba. As for what it means for U.S. consumers, the answer is still unclear.

The imbroglio all started in 1997 when Cuban company Cubatabaco, which owns Cohiba and the rights to market the brand internationally, sued General Cigar Co. for its use of the Cohiba name in the United States. General was rolling and selling non-Cuban Cohibas of its own (casually referred to as “Red Dot” Cohibas, named after the original non-Cuban packaging) for the U.S. market. Cubatabaco cried foul and has been seeking to cancel General’s trademark, which would effectively abolish the production, marketing and sale of all non-Cuban Cohiba cigars.

The issue has been in litigation since the Clinton administration with back-and-forth losses and victories for both sides. So far, the Supreme Court has refused to hear the case, but the scales of justice in the lower courts have tipped in Cuba’s favor (see the timeline). It all comes down to one question: Do international trademark laws still apply when the aggrieved company is under a trade embargo? According to one justice, the answer is yes.

This most recent ruling is a result of a suit filed in February 2023: General Cigar Company v. Empresa Cubana del Tabaco d.b.a. Cubatabaco. General sought to reverse a previous decision made by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) in 2022, which ruled to cancel General’s Cohiba trademark registration in the United States. In May, General lost that case.