Could Cuba be sued for using confiscated marcas?

[NYGuido]

It is rare that my interest in Cuban cigars ever intersects with my being a complete US Supreme Court nerd, but this week I hit jackpot! The Court heard arguments in two cases arising under a 1990's law that allows US nationals to sue anyone who "traffics in" property seized by the Cuban government as part of the Revolution. The case concerns whether this US law abrogated a separate US law that ordinarily prohibits suing a foreign government under a doctrine called sovereign immunity. SCOTUSBlog, a very reputable source for analyzing these things, has a thorough summary of the pending cases here, but my question is this:

What happens if those from whom the famous Cuban marcas were seized sue under this same cause of action? 

My guess is that this certainly would happen if the embargo ever was lifted and Cuban cigars legally could be imported and sold in the US, but I also know there is decades-long litigation about trademark issues related to certain Cuban marcas and their US counterparts. But, while the Cohiba lawsuit relates to a brand that was not confiscated and is something of a standard trademark suit, how the Supreme Court rules in its pending cases may pave the way for the non-Cuban Upmann, Montecristo, etc., brands to sue Cubatabaco (which I think is the IP ownership arm) under a similar legal theory. I am sure that @MrBirdman has views on this, as well.

Yes, this is nitty gritty and likely irrelevant for one reason or another, but I just had to highlight that, for once (well, maybe twice, given the tariff ruling), my being a cigar and SCOTUS lover have intersected.

[ATGroom]

Altadis USA (same owners as Habanos) owns the NC versions of H. Upmann, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Saint Luis Rey and Trinidad, so those will not be a problem.

Most of the others - Bolivar, El Rey del Mundo, Hoyo de Monterrey, Partagas, Sancho Panza, Cohiba, La Gloria Cubana, and Punch - are owned by General Cigar Co. If a deal can be negotiated with them then the rest is a rounding error. The easiest thing is probably for Altadis to acquire them. If that can't be done, well, they undoubtedly have the budget and motivation for a decades long lawsuit.

Even if the Cuban government become pro-US free-market capitalist tomorrow, it will still take a decade to untangle Cuba's planned economy and likely the same to negotiate a lifting of the embargo. The claims of the exiles will need to be addressed somehow as part of that deal. Whatever that looks like, it is not practical to allow every claimant to sue the Cuban government individually. There will need to be a state level settlement of some kind. 

[NYGuido]

6 hours ago, ATGroom said:

t is not practical to allow every claimant to sue the Cuban government individually. There will need to be a state level settlement of some kind.

This seems right to me, as well. I would imagine that, in the event the US embargo was lifted, part of that statutory package would include some amendments to the LIBERTAD Act (the one at issue in the SCOTUS case) outlining the go-forward procedure. Then again, I have been wrong about legislative responses to court rulings before.

[Habanoschris]

I have been loosely following the lawsuit & appeals involving the major cruise lines (Norwegian, Carnival, Royal Caribbean etc.) and Havana docks.  

I'm not a cruise person but I had been eyeing these cruises about 10 years ago, before they were cancelled as they were non-stop from the US to Havana, and would spend a week or so docked there. In essence, a floating hotel with all the amenities and access to Cuba etc. 

[Lucas Buck]

Even before I smoked Cuban cigars I thought it was lame that there were NC brands with the same names. Que sera sera. 

[BrightonCorgi]

On 2/24/2026 at 7:09 PM, ATGroom said:

Altadis USA (same owners as Habanos) owns the NC versions of H. Upmann, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Saint Luis Rey and Trinidad, so those will not be a problem.

Most of the others - Bolivar, El Rey del Mundo, Hoyo de Monterrey, Partagas, Sancho Panza, Cohiba, La Gloria Cubana, and Punch - are owned by General Cigar Co. If a deal can be negotiated with them then the rest is a rounding error. The easiest thing is probably for Altadis to acquire them. If that can't be done, well, they undoubtedly have the budget and motivation for a decades long lawsuit.

Even if the Cuban government become pro-US free-market capitalist tomorrow, it will still take a decade to untangle Cuba's planned economy and likely the same to negotiate a lifting of the embargo. The claims of the exiles will need to be addressed somehow as part of that deal. Whatever that looks like, it is not practical to allow every claimant to sue the Cuban government individually. There will need to be a state level settlement of some kind. 

Sounds like a licensing deal will solve the trademark disputes.

[NYGuido]

On 2/27/2026 at 8:11 AM, BrightonCorgi said:

Sounds like a licensing deal will solve the trademark disputes.

It would, absolutely. But the issue is whether the value in the IP that was taken is subject to being awarded as damages. These cases are step 1 in figuring that out, but you are right that there are usually other means of getting some kind of results.

[BrightonCorgi]

2 hours ago, NYGuido said:

It would, absolutely. But the issue is whether the value in the IP that was taken is subject to being awarded as damages. These cases are step 1 in figuring that out, but you are right that there are usually other means of getting some kind of results.

They can fight it out in court with lawyers being the only beneficiary for some time or make a reasonable licensing deal and move on.