According to a CA article, Altadis and Tatuaje settled all of their lawsuits. A confidential (and I wonder how mutually beneficial) agreement was made and Pete Johnson said that he would be making "minor changes" to some of his cigars. Does this mean that he'll remove the Fleur de Lys? All we can do is wait and see.
UPDATE: the lawsuits have been settled.
We haven't seen a huge lawsuit in the cigar industry for a while, and here it is (it's a few months old but I thought I should share) - Goliath, Altadis USA, against David, Pete Johnson from Tatuaje. The object of the lawsuit is the Fleur de Lys symbol, present both in the Tatuaje logo and in the logo of non-Cuban Montecristo cigars.
With all the lawyers Altadis have and considering the fact that they used the Fleur de Lys before Tatuaje, for me it is unlikely that Pete Johnson will be able to win this case. Some fervent supporters of Tatuaje have already created a petition to boycott Altadis products.
What is your opinion? Is Altadis right to protect its intellectual property (is the fleur de lys a defendable property?) or they are just jealous of Pete Johnson's success?
Here is a very real example of how the SCHIP cigar tax has actually affected people. Because of the drastically increased prices due to the new tax, a Florida-based cigar factory, Hav-A-Tampa, was forced to close its doors in April 2009, leaving 500 workers jobless. I would not post about this for the sheer news of a closed plant or jobs destruction - we all know very well that this kind of thing is happening daily, in the United States and all around the world.
What I would like to tell you about is how the employees reacted - more precisely, one of them, Ron Russell. Instead of immediately looking for another job, he started a simple community website, Hav-A-Tampa Job Portal, where he listed profiles of his fellow ex-collegues who wanted to participate. Russell says he has already found 30 jobs. I am sure his initiative will pay off and Hav-A-Tampa employees will integrate businesses that will appreciate their skills.
This is a new blend from Alec Bradley. "Vice Press" will be presented in three formats featuring extra-large ring gauges: 5 x 64 robusto, 6.5 x 62 toro and 7 x 60 torpedo.
From the press release:
The blend consists of a diverse combination of Nicaraguan, Honduran and Mexican long-fillers with a double binder consisting of Costa Rican and Colombia tobaccos pressed inside a dark, oily Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper leaf. The smoke is medium-bodied with a creamy texture and dense, robust undertones enhanced by a natural sweetness for which Jalapa Valley wrapper is known.
Originally introduced in 2007 as an addition to the Alec Bradley MAXX series, Vice (whose double entendre name was inspired by its box-pressed shape), was presented in an awe-inspiring chest of 50 cigars with sliding Spanish cedar trays.
Alec Bradley Cigars will officially debut the new Vice Press cigars in New Orleans at the annual International
Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) trade show in August.
Last Friday we had the privilege of having one of the most popular figures in the cigar industry at Empire Cigars – Don Pepin Garcia!
Pepin showed up promptly at 3pm and the festivities began with Empanadas and Mojitos. Our pal Hal Rubin, the owner, also splurged on a few bottles of Zaya, a 12-year old rum from Trinidad which was absolutely fantastic.
There were great promotions that night, discount on boxes of DPG cigars and a free 5-pack with every box purchase. Box purchases earned a ticket for the raffle which included a few pipe and baseball cigars and a few ashtrays as well.
Read the full review of Don Pepin Garcia Event at Empire Cigars...
