Now it seems that the Cuban government wants their brand names - and that subliminal marketing message that goes with the names - back and they’re pursuing Bacardi and others through the Courts to recover what they believe is rightfully theirs. It’s an interesting situation that may not be resolved any time soon and you may wonder why anyone would really bother.

Well all you have to do is to look ahead to the time when the embargo is lifted to see why. At that time we can expect to see a flood of fine quality Cuban produce flow into this country and if Cuba doesn’t do something to protect its brand names then the big international companies that are currently trading on those brands will be in a position to take action to protect the brand names that they have hijacked.

When you think about it there will be a huge demand for genuine Cohiba cigars … who wouldn’t want to try a cigar that was so good that it was Fidel Castro’s personal choice? You may not like the man but I’m sure you would admire his choice of cigars. And when you can get the real thing why would you bother buying a Cuban cigar made in Virginia?

So Swedish Match will want to do something to protect what has become “their” brand and the genuine cigar may never be allowed to sell in this country under its rightful name.

At the same time Cuban cigar makers and rum distillers are going to want to make the money to which their entitled when they do get the chance to sell their products here. So they’re going to put up a mighty fight through the Courts to regain control of what they consider to be rightfully theirs.