Bacardi Loses Havana Club Trademark Suit Against Patent Office

Bacardi USA Inc. lost a lawsuit against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after a Virginia federal court found it didn’t have the ability to review whether the agency should have renewed a Cuban rum maker’s “Havana Club” trademark registration.

Bacardi and Cubaexport, the Cuban government agency that makes and sells the rum internationally, have been in a decadeslong fight over who owns the rights to the Havana Club trademark.

Bacardi, a Florida-based rum maker, argued that the USPTO violated the Administrative Procedure Act by allowing Cubaexport to renew its rights to Havana Club in 2016. Bacardi sells rum internationally ...