4th Circuit Affirms Dismissal in Bacardi Havana Club Dispute

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on June 16 affirmed the dismissal of Bacardi's lawsuit challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's renewal of Cubaexport's federal trademark registration for Havana Club rum.

The court held that an Office of Foreign Assets Control license issued in 2016 effectively cleared the path for the renewal that had been attempted in 2005. The panel concluded that what appeared incomplete in 2006 was timely and effective by the time of the 2016 renewal.

Bacardi had argued that the Cuban state-owned entity's mark should have expired in 2006 after missing statutory deadlines. The district court dismissed the case, and the appeals court agreed that judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act did not alter the outcome in this instance.

The long-running dispute stems from the Cuban government's seizure of the Havana Club brand after the 1959 revolution. Bacardi acquired rights from the original Cuban owner and has sold the rum in the United States since 1995, while Cubaexport and Pernod Ricard market it elsewhere.

Sources: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/bacardi-loses-us-appeal-long-running-havana-club-trademark-dispute-2026-06-16/ https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/bacardi-loses-again-havana-club-lawsuit-against-us-trademark-office-2025-01-24/