A federal panel has just announced General Cigar Co. Inc. to be the winner of a 16 year old lawsuit between the company and Cubatabaco. The lawsuit revolved around the use of the name “Cohiba” in the United States, with Cubatabaco protesting that the trademark belongs to them and that General Cigar has no right to use it.

Since however Cubatabaco does not operate in the United States and General Cigar Co. Inc. does, the court has ruled that General Cigar is entirely within its rights to use the trademark “Cohiba” when selling cigars in the U.S. Cohiba was first registered as a trademark by General Cigar clear back in 1981. With the decision by the federal judge protecting General Cigar’s use of the Cohiba trademark in this country, parallel use of the name will continue in the U.S. and in Cuba.