Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a 15-day trademark for Havana Club rum to the Cuban government, specifically Cubaexport. Before that trademark lapses, the Cuban entity expects to have received the 10-year extension of its trademark through 2026 that it has applied for.
- By permitting a trademark for Cuba’s most famous brand, the trademark office has overturned a policy that previously said Havana did not have rights to the brand in the U.S.
- This trademark could cause controversy in the U.S. rum business, as Bacardi purchased the U.S. rights to Havana Club from its founders in 1994, when the family fled Cuba after the Cuban government seized the brand. However, Bacardi manufactures its Havana Club rum in Puerto Rico because of the U.S. economic embargo.
Dive Insight:
Once the U.S. embargo is lifted, the Cuban government would have permission to sell Havana Club in the U.S. For sales outside the U.S., the Cuban government has been selling Cuban-made Havana Club rum through a partnership with Pernod Ricard, which annually sells around 4 million 9-liter cases of Havana Club outside the U.S.
Bacardi plans to "take every means available to fight [the decision]," including litigation, Bacardi executive vice president of external affairs Rick Wilson told The Wall Street Journal. Wilson said, "It’s appalling that [the Obama] administration goes ahead and grants this license to the Cuban government for assets that were confiscated."
Rum hasn't been as much of the focus in the spirits industry like competitors whiskey and vodka, with rum seeing a little over 25,000 cases sold and a 1.5% drop in volume growth in 2014 as compared to over 56,000 cases sold and 7.3% positive volume growth for whiskey in the same time period. Vodka still leads the pack with nearly 67,000 cases sold in 2014, but its own growth has slowed since the fall of the flavored whiskey trend, coming it at just 1.6% that year.