Disclaimer

The information on this website is presented as a service for our clients and Internet users and is not intended to be legal advice, nor should you consider it as such. Although we welcome your inquiries, please keep in mind that merely contacting us will not establish an attorney-client relationship between us. Consequently, you should not convey any confidential information to us until a formal attorney-client relationship has been established. Please remember that electronic correspondence on the internet is not secure and that you should not include sensitive or confidential information in messages. With that in mind, we look forward to hearing from you.

 Skip to Content

A Playing Field for Trademark Pirates
April 29, 2016

Now that President Obama has lifted trade restrictions, American businesses are considering whether to expand their operations to Cuba. For some corporations, it makes immediate sense. For others, it may not. But regardless of your company’s short-term plans, you must be aware that trademark pirates will file trademark applications for your trademarks in their own name, and then try to sell them back to you for a large ransom.

Even if your company has no plans to do business in Cuba in the near future, third-party registration of your company’s trademarks opens the door for counterfeits of your products—and may well close the door on your ability to do business there in the future.

What can you do now? Your options may include proactive filing to beat the pirates at their own game. If they’ve filed first, you may be able to take legal action under Cuban law and certain Pan-American treaties.

To learn more about how this threat may impact your business, and how you may protect your trademarks, please contact a member of our intellectual property and technology group.
Related Practices
International Intellectual Property
©2024 Carlton Fields, P.A. Carlton Fields practices law in California through Carlton Fields, LLP. Carlton Fields publications should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information and educational purposes only, and should not be relied on as if it were advice about a particular fact situation. The distribution of this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship with Carlton Fields. This publication may not be quoted or referred to in any other publication or proceeding without the prior written consent of the firm, to be given or withheld at our discretion. To request reprint permission for any of our publications, please use our Contact Us form via the link below. The views set forth herein are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the firm. This site may contain hypertext links to information created and maintained by other entities. Carlton Fields does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this outside information, nor is the inclusion of a link to be intended as an endorsement of those outside sites.