Cuba on Thursday accused the United States of "theft" over a ruling that Bacardi could sell Puerto Rico-made "Cuban" rum in America, after Pernod Ricard's original Cuba-made Havana Club rum was defeated.
The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Pernod Ricard's arguments against its rival Bacardi in a bitter trademark war, leaving the France-based company empty handed.
The two companies have been battling over the Havana Club rum brand since the 1990s, when Bacardi launched its Puerto Rico-made version to sell inside the United States, taking advantage of Washington's embargo on Cuban imports.
But the Cuban foreign ministry said in a statement published in state media that the highest US court's decision was allowing the "theft" of the Havana Club brand from "its rightful owner."
The statement also warned of "negative consequences" on trade that could flow from the court ruling.
Pernod sells Cuba-made Havana Club elsewhere around the world in a joint venture with the Cuban government. The company fought to retain the original US rights to the name in the hope that Washington would eventually make peace with Havana and remove the embargo.
On Monday, Pernod said it had already registered a new brand name for the US market, Havanista, in anticipation that the US will one day lift the import ban and the company will then be able to sell a true Cuba-made rum in America.
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