This ruling was tied to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision from 2022. That decision canceled General’s two US Cohiba trademarks and will be upheld. The judge dismissed the current case. While it’s tough to keep score, this particular suit was filed in 2023. General was attempting to reverse the 2022 decision.

According to the courts, “Because the Court finds that Cubatabaco has established that the TTAB’s cancellation of General Cigar’s registrations was proper under Article 8 of the Inter-American Convention (IAC) and that the Cuban Assets Control Regulations do not prohibit such cancellation, General Cigar’s requested relief will be denied and its Amended Complaint will be dismissed without prejudice.”

General lost the case.

What does this mean for General Cigar Company and US-made Cohibas?

Will General cease production of the red-dot Cohibas and stop selling them? No, probably not. Fans of the brand don’t have anything to worry about, for now.

Régis Broersma, the Chief Commercial Officer of Scandinavian Tobacco Group — who owns General — says that they are “disappointed by this decision.” But this isn’t the end of the legal fight.

They will now “study the ruling closely.” That’s customary with legal matters of this kind. The team will also “consider the opportunity to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.”

“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.”

This ruling specifically concerns federal trademark registrations. It doesn’t have any bearing on General Cigar’s common law trademark rights. In other words, Cohiba cigars will continue to be available from the company.

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