Bacardi To Take Havana Club National

(by Shanken News Daily) Following a recent victory in its U.S. legal battle over the Havana Club rum trademark with Pernod Ricard, Bacardi is gearing up to expand its version of the rum brand into national distribution. The Huffington Post quoted a Bacardi spokesperson as saying the national rollout of Havana Club will come “in the near future.” Bacardi told Shanken News Daily this morning it was too early to provide more specifics on the launch.

On May 14, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Pernod regarding its efforts to renew its Havana Club trademark in the U.S. Following that decision, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office now might cancel the trademark in question—thus paving the way for Bacardi to expand the footprint of its own Havana Club rum beyond the southern Florida market, where it’s currently sold in small quantities. Pernod responded to the Supreme Court’s demurral by registering a new trademark of its own, Havanista, under which it will market a Cuban rum in the U.S. if and when the government lifts its current embargo against Cuban products.