8/6/2019 Trademarks for Freedom
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CONTACT: Frank Herrera H New Media / 305-965-5148 Date: August
11, 2011M E D I A R E L E A S E
The law firm of H New Media and its client Inter-America Cigar
Company announced today a unique
legal settlement offer to resolve a trademark dispute with Cuba:
Inter-Americas United States HAVANA
SUNRISE trademark in exchange for the release of U.S. contractor
Alan P. Gross held in Cuban prison.
Trademarks for Freedom.
Frank Herrera of H New Media and Benjamin Gomez of Inter-America
stated that they are willing tosettle their longstanding trademark
battle with Corporacion Habanos, S..A. (The Cuban governments
cigar
distribution and exportation company) over the name HAVANA
SUNRISE if the Cuban government will
agree to release Alan P. Gross. Mr. Gross, a U.S. government
subcontractor, has been held behind Cuban
bars since his arrest in December 2009. This past spring he was
found guilty by the Cuban government of
bringing satellite and other Internet enabling communication
equipment into Cuba. A recent appeal has
ended Mr. Gross legal process in Cuba where he will remain to
serve his 15 year prison sentence. His
family has made countless pleas to U.S. politicians and the
Cuban government to no avail.
Mr. Gomez has owned the HAVANA SUNRISE trademark since 2006 but
the trademark has been used
in connection with cigars in the U.S. since the mid-1990s by a
predecessor. Two years ago, Corporacion
Habanos filed a trademark cancellation proceeding in the U.S. in
order to bar Mr. Gomezs company from
ownership of the trademark registration. During this time, Cuba
unilaterally cancelled Mr.Gomezs HAVANA SUNRISE trademark
registration which was on file at the Cuban
trademark office. Mr. Gomezs company, like many other U.S.
companies, has been under legal attack
by Corporacion Habanos for years. In fact, some of these
companies with similar legal issues have litigated
against Corporacion Habanos for nearly a decade.
We believe that the Government of Cuba has no legal right to
attack our United States
trademarks. Even so, they have relentlessly litigated against us
and others for years. They
have preyed on many companies that have very little financial
resources to defend against
these baseless cases. However, we have stood our ground to
protect our trademark that
has been used in the U.S. for nearly 20 years. While we strongly
believe that we will win
our case, we are very concerned about Mr. Gross mental and
physical health while
incarcerated in Cuba. He is simply accused of trying to bring
Internet access to Cubas
people. We believe in freedom of expression and other basic
human rights and can not sit
quietly. That is why we have decided to make this public offer
to Cuba. Release Mr. Gross
and we will voluntarily surrender our HAVANA SUNRISE trademark
registration. It is a
small token, but we believe that there is great value in this to
both sides of the Florida
Straits. - Mr. Gomez of Inter-America Cigar Co.
The United States Treasury Department enforces regulations that
forbid certain exchanges, monetary
or otherwise, between United States citizens or companies and
Cuban persons or entities without a special
license. Mr. Gomez said that he is prepared to request such a
special license or otherwise work through
any other legal red-tape to make this happen should the Cuban
government accept his offer. Moreover, Mr.
Gomez offered to work with other companies that are litigating
against Corporacion Habanos in an attempt to have them join in his
offer ofTrademarks for Freedom. It is estimated that
Corporacion
Habanos has spent millions of dollars on attorneys fees over the
past decade litigating these trademark
cases in the U.S. in light of the fact that Cuban goods and
services can not be sold in the U.S. due to the
long-standing embargo. Mr. Gomez hopes that Cuba will see the
value in his offer.
Frank Herrera of H New Media can be reached for comment at (305)
965-5148 or
[email protected].
Inter-America Cigar Co. has been in business since the early
1970s and is one of the oldest continuously
operated family cigar businesses in the country.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
