Cigars, Cigar Information and where to find Premium Cigars, Discounted Cigars and even Cheap Cigars - GENERAL CIGAR WINS USE OF COHIBA TRADEMARK ON APPEAL

GENERAL CIGAR WINS USE OF COHIBA TRADEMARK ON APPEAL

GENERAL CIGAR WINS USE OF COHIBA TRADEMARK ON APPEAL

Plus: Havana’s Festival del Habano is smoking, but what about smoking at the Floridita?

Los Angeles, February 25 – General Cigar was awarded use of the Cohiba trademark in the U.S. by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a decision announced on Thursday afternoon in New York.

Circuit Judge Chester J. Staub, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, affirmed the dismissal of all causes of action against General Cigar, concurring with the District Court’s opinion, but also dismissing the single count on which District Court judge Robert Sweet had upheld Cubatabaco’s ownership of the Cohiba mark.

The options for Empresa Cubana del Tabaco are to accept the judgement, ask for a re-hearing by the entire Second Circuit, or most likely, ask for the case to be heard by the United States Supreme Court.

We’ll have a full dissection of Judge Staub’s opinion on Monday.

Michigan’s wolves going after smokers:
Following the lead of the state of Oregon, the state of Michigan is sending bills to smokers who purchased cigarettes without paying state tobacco taxes.

The Associated Press reported last Friday that the Michigan Treasury Department sent letters to 533 suspected offenders, whose collective tax debt could be as high as $1.7 million. The primary target is apparently buyers from 13 on-line tobacco retailers operating inside the state.

A 1949 Federal law known as the Jenkins Act (15 U.S.C. §375 et seq.) allows states to collect taxes due for cigarettes purchases only and does not apply to cigars. New Federal legislation would be required to extend personal liability for state tobacco taxes to cigars.

The AP story included some unhappy comments from Michigan citizens who received a bill and added to the increasingly loud complaints being aimed at Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, whose plan for balancing the troubled state budget was to institute a series of “sin taxes” on tobacco and alcohol and expand the inheritance tax. Only the tobacco tax passed the Republican-controlled state legislature. Granholm, a Democrat, is up for election again in 2006.

Cascade Cigar & Tobacco co-owner Jan Elser-Rowe of Portland, Oregon has been leading a fight against such tax increases to balance state budgets and urges smokers to visit an on-line petition site (click here) to voice their displeasure.

From the Cubador:
The VII Festival del Habano continues at a frantic pace in Havana, with the concluding awards dinner and auction held tonight.

On Thursday, the official Prensa Latina news agency offered new details about the Cuban harvest and the celebration of the 160th anniversary of the Partagas brand:

• After seeing fields in the Partidos region (mostly in San Antonio de los Banos) earlier in the week, attendees had the chance on Thursday to visit the Vuelta Abajo fields in Pinar del Rio and see the famed land of tobacco for themselves. The director of tobacco production for western Cuba, Rolando Gonzalez, told the news agency:

> Due to the drought in the central and eastern parts of the island, extra tobacco was planted in the Pinar del Rio area, which already supplies 70% of the island’s annual tobacco output.

> Plantings for this season covered 53,078 acres (21,472 hectares), including 30 new areas not planned to be planted, but needed due to the problems in the Remedios and Oriente areas.

> Production from the Pinar del Rio area is expected to total about 18,143 metric tons, down from 22,000 tons in the 2003-04 season, but respectable considering the problems caused by hurricane Ivan last year.

• Also on the schedule for Thursday was a tour of the Partagas factory, home to the two new cigars introduced at the Festival:

> Partagas Serie P No. 2, a torpedo-shaped cigar of 6 1/8 inches by 52 ring gauge, offered in unique boxes shaped like a pyramid!

> The second Seleccion Reserva, featuring three-year-old tobaccos, was released in 5,000 boxes of 20 (100,000 cigars total) in the Partagas Serie D No. 4 (4 7/8 inches by 50 ring robustos) shape.

Total attendance at the Festival is reported at more than 1,300 from 56 countries, which would be a record for the event.

From the Floridita:
A Reuters report from Havana noted that the famed Floridita restaurant, well known as one of Ernest Hemingway’s favorites, has already thrown in the towel in trying to enforce Cuba’s new smoking ban.

The Reuters report, filed by correspondent Anthony Boadle in Havana, noted that the Floridita enforced the smoking ban beginning on the first day of enforcement, February 7. It was the first time that smoking was not allowed there since it opened in 1817.

However, business from tourists – the vast majority of its customers – declined severely and the restaurant management gave up trying to enforce the ban.

Cuban cigar merchants noted that the ban has caused a reduction in their business, as much as 15% by one account. However, smoking was still being allowed in the island’s cigar factories and the Habanos S.A. has filed a request with the Cuban government for a permanent exception to the ban for these facilities.

Last Chance for February Combo Offer:
Nearing the end of the month and the end of our special offer if you’d like to enjoy the new, 2005 Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars, along with our value-packed CigarWire service: just $32. It includes:

• A one-year subscription to the CigarWire and

• A copy of the new 2005 Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars!

That’s normally a $41.95 value, but we’re offering this special, discounted price through the end of this month only.

Your subscription will also include our “Week in Review” newsletter sent each Thursday with a summary of our top stories of the week!
~ Rich Perelman

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