Monday August 6 6:27 PM ET U.S. 'Pleased' with WTO Ruling in Cuba Rum Case WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. trade officials said on Monday they were ``pleased'' with a World Trade Organization ruling in a case brought by the European Union involving trademark rights for a major brand of Cuban rum. The ruling stemmed from a 1998 U.S. law aimed at restricting the use of Cuban brand names in the United States for products originally made by firms which were nationalized after Cuban leader Fidel Castro took power in 1959. ``We are pleased the panel found against the EU on 13 of 14 claims,'' a U.S. trade official said. At the center of the row are rival claims by the Bermuda-based Bacardi Ltd. and Pernod Ricard SA -- two of the world's largest drink makers -- to the use of the ``Havana Club'' rum trademark in the United States. Pernod Ricard operates a joint venture, called Havana Club Holding, with Havana Rum and Liquors of Cuba to market Havana Club rum in more than 80 countries around the world. But its claim to the trademark in the United States has been challenged by Bacardi, which says it acquired the rights from the label's original owner. The WTO panel ruling on Monday confirmed the U.S. view that the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) does not require the United States or any other WTO member ``to recognize the confiscation decrees of other countries,'' the U.S. official said. The one element of the WTO ruling that went in favor of the EU ``involved a procedural obligation,'' the official said. Mark Orr, vice president of North American affairs for Pernod Ricard, said the United States was attempting to put the ''best gloss'' on a ruling that strikes at the heart of the so-called ``Section 211'' provision. The panel ruled WTO members must provide holders of intellectual property rights, like trademarks, with ``meaningful access to civil courts to defend their rights,'' Orr said. Section 211 violated that rule by specifying U.S. courts did not have jurisdiction to hear cases involving Cuban trademarks dating back to pre-Castro days, he said. Pernod Ricard says the original owner, Jose Arechebala SA, failed to renew the Havana Club trademark in 1973. Three years later, a Cuban company called Cubaexport acquired the ownership rights by registering the trademark at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Orr said. The Havana Club Holding joint venture in turn acquired the ownership rights from Cubaexport in 1993, he said. Under Section 211, it has been unable to challenge Bacardi's rival claim to the trademark, he said. Orr disputed the U.S. assertion that the WTO had ruled against the EU on 13 of the 14 arguments. In fact, the WTO did not rule on four of the points because it lacked sufficient information, he said. The U.S. claim that its position on confiscation was upheld is also misleading because it was not at issue, Orr said. The EU has welcomed the panel decision on the right of companies to have access to court to press trademark claims, but said it would appeal other parts of the opinion. The panel's ruling that trade names are not covered by the TRIPS could significantly reduce trademark protections around the world, the EU said.
