The ongoing legal dispute over the Cohiba trademark in the U.S. took another turn last week. On May 7, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in favor of Cubatabaco in the litigation filed by General Cigar Co., Inc. This challenge was over the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s cancellation of General Cigar’s U.S. trademark registrations related to the Cohiba mark for use with premium cigars.
“We are of course disappointed by this decision, but we and our advisors will now study the ruling closely and of course consider the opportunity to appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit,” commented Régis Broersma, chief commercial officer of Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG), the owner of General Cigar Co. “Our federal trademark registrations which are the subject of the dispute, would remain valid and enforceable during a pending appeal. We expect the long dispute to continue before the courts.”
The dispute between Cubatabaco and General Cigar Co. has been ongoing since the mid-1990s. This recent ruling addresses General Cigar’s federal trademark and does not impact the company’s common law trademark rights based on its long use of the Cohiba mark used on its cigars that are marketed and sold in the U.S. General Cigar states that these trademark rights remain valid and enforceable irrespective of the current dispute and that Cohiba cigars made by General Cigar will continue to be available in the U.S. as they have for nearly 50 years now.