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A POLITICALLY SMART MOVE Print E-mail
Page 2 of 2
As you know Menendez Amerino & Cia Ltda is a hand made premium cigars producer in Brazil, which export to several countries on the five continents. We have under our property the following brands: Dona Flor Alonso Menendez and Aquarius. These cigars are produced under managing of Mr. Felix Menendez, who is very recognized on the tobacco world for all aficionados.

Against terms established on the contract, Brazil Cigars & Tabacco LLC registered our above mentioned brands, on the US territory, it forces us to stop to supply them our hand made premium cigars.

In case they offer to your company Dona Flor, Alonso Menendez or Aquarius brands, they will not be the real one, since the originals brands will be sold in US through new distributor, which will announce soon, . . .”
As you can imagine, Brazil Cigars & Tobacco (“BCT”) wasn’t too happy about this and sent a letter dated March 19 to its retailers from Dana Sheldon stating (also reproduced in part verbatim):
Please be aware as of 2007 Menendez Amerino, our previous manufacturer in Brazil has been acquired by another company as a result of high demand and great ratings BCT has obtained on these cigars in the US market.

If you have received any letters or correspondence from Brazil, Menendez Amerino, Mitka or other company defaming or disparaging our company or stating that BCT does not represent Menendez Amerino & Cia LTDA please disregard their notice as we are the Only authorized USA distributor and Owner of the US Trademarks for our products and are the rightful owners/suppliers of the products in the US.

We have moved our manufacturing to another location in Brazil where quality and consistency will be at the highest levels. BCT is the Legal and only authorized company that can distribute Dona Flor, Alonso Menendez, Aquarius and all our products in the US.
Sheldon noted further that BCT will be offering its cigars with a band that includes serial numbers to ensure authenticity.

This is a tragedy not just for these companies, but for the cause of Brazilian cigars in the U.S. Cigars made in Brazil have been a difficult sell in the U.S. and are already a very minor player. This dispute will only set back the noteworthy efforts of BCT to establish a presence for Brazilian-made cigars on the American market through its efforts at trade shows and in-store events.

The two sides have been busy of late, especially with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:

  • The brand name “Aquarius” was filed for by BCT on February 7, 2008.

  • The brand name “Alonso Menendez” as part of a logo was filed for on December 15, 2005 by BCT and the mark will be published for opposition on April 8. In the meantime, additional applications for just the brand name itself were filed by Menendez Amerino on February 8 of this year and by BCT on February 12, and the name “Alonso Menendez Series” was filed for by BCT on March 7.

  • The brand name “Dona Flor” with a logo was filed for by BCT on December 15, 2005 and was published for opposition on March 25, 2008. Additional filings for the brand name alone were made by BCT on February 2 of this year and by Menendez Amerino on February 8. And BCT filed for additional names including “Dona Flor Alonso Menendez Series” on March 7 of this year and Dona Flor Selecao in two different styles on February 19 and March 3, 2008.

    No matter who finally wins this battle, after the legal tug-of-war finally plays out, will there be anything left to build on?
    ~ Rich Perelman
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    Comments (1)add comment

    Geraldo Scotto said:

    I read the below message about our litigation against Brazil Cigars, where I could see part of the letter wrote for them, which is complete wrong, since they do not have the right to request to register for our brands, it is very clear on the contract signed for them. We also have already filled in all the forms on the same time, Brazil Cigars did.
    These guys are tricking with consumers, retails, tobacconist, when they say they found another Brazilian producer to run cigar for Brazil Cigar, it is not the true and very easy to check, just call or write for any Brazilian procuder. All ot them are our partner on the UNION and nobody want to have the same headache we are facing. We are a serious Brazilain company group and Menendez Amerino is one company inside this group, we are not amador which just take cigars and try to sell. This battle will be define easy and very soon on the court. When we will prove everything we are saying and keep going our business in US territory, through professional guys, expande our participation on world market, since, our company sell trhough five continents. We are the real owner of this brand which takes Menendez family name and we are the only one in condition to supply the market, suppirt constumers with marketing material, attend all tobacco exhibition around the world, etc. Brazil Cigar is not able to do it.
    I hope the market can understand this confuse situation, but, we are sure, we will be increasing our market share on US.

    Geraldo Scotto
    Export Director
    Menendez Amerino & Cia Ltda
     
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