PERNOD DEMANDS BACARDI PAY UP
So what exactly are Pernod’s grievances against rival Bacardi? The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Delaware, alleges Bacardi wrongly claimed it owns the Havana Club trademark in statements to the media, and misleads consumers by titling the rum Havana Club when it’s actually made in Puerto Rico.
According to law.com, Pernod wants the court to rule that Bacardi has violated Section 43 of the Lanham Act, the U.S. trademark law, which prevents companies from making false statements in advertisements. Furthermore, the French company wants to prohibit Bacardi employees from making misrepresentations to the media, and require Bacardi to publish corrections and pay Pernod three times the amount of its U.S. profits from the rum.
In a response, Bacardi called the allegations “inaccurate,” claiming that “the front of the bottle clearly states that Havana Club is Puerto Rican rum and nowhere on its packaging does it claim it’s produced in Cuba.”
“Rum requires no geographic destination,” the statement continued. According to Bacardi, Pernod has no trademark registration and no rights to the Havana Club brand in the U.S. Bacardi reportedly purchased the Havana brand from the Arechabala family years ago before Fidel Castro took power in Cuba and ran the family off to Spain.
Pernod, however, claims that Bacardi’s Republican connections are the main components in helping the company win favorable treatment in the trademark dispute. According to the Washington Post and the Daily Business Review, Gov. Jeb Bush personally lobbied patent officials in D.C. on Bacardi’s behalf.
According to law.com, Pernod wants the court to rule that Bacardi has violated Section 43 of the Lanham Act, the U.S. trademark law, which prevents companies from making false statements in advertisements. Furthermore, the French company wants to prohibit Bacardi employees from making misrepresentations to the media, and require Bacardi to publish corrections and pay Pernod three times the amount of its U.S. profits from the rum.
In a response, Bacardi called the allegations “inaccurate,” claiming that “the front of the bottle clearly states that Havana Club is Puerto Rican rum and nowhere on its packaging does it claim it’s produced in Cuba.”
“Rum requires no geographic destination,” the statement continued. According to Bacardi, Pernod has no trademark registration and no rights to the Havana Club brand in the U.S. Bacardi reportedly purchased the Havana brand from the Arechabala family years ago before Fidel Castro took power in Cuba and ran the family off to Spain.
Pernod, however, claims that Bacardi’s Republican connections are the main components in helping the company win favorable treatment in the trademark dispute. According to the Washington Post and the Daily Business Review, Gov. Jeb Bush personally lobbied patent officials in D.C. on Bacardi’s behalf.
posted at 11:55 AM
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