From what the lawsuit states: http://is.gd/4Lbem pages 23-24 especially, they seem to be only concerned with Brown label white FLD
Altadis has officially brought a lawsuit to Tatuaje...
- Thread starter cc jefe
- Start date
Craig Mac
BoM 4/10 7/11 12/14
Pages 36-38 describe what they want specifically done regarding Pete, they seem to be making most of their focus towards DPG.
Interesting read though!
petroleumengineer
Jeff
:angryteet That's what I'm talking about! :angryteet
What's next the padron x000s because the band has a round area with white lettering and is in the color brown? Altadis better go pick a fight with the pope as well.
http://cigarfan.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/padron4000-on-box.jpg
http://cigarfan.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/padron4000-on-box.jpg
yeah, reading the document, it's definitely more about the Garcia name. The Fleur de lis is icing on the cake.
Interesting. Maybe he could just inverse the colors and then they wouldn't be pissy (although he'd have 3 white bands then...)
They're grabbing at straws. They have to justify the fact that he's been using it for years and they never said anything so they say that he has "expanded" its use recently, thereby bringing on the action, but another big pillar of their argument is the brown+white+FdL combination, which has been around for years.
They allowed the seleccion de cazador to have the brown and white label and a FdL for years without saying anything. They let their trademark be diluted for years before stepping in. Pete may have a chance.
Basically if "Brown and White label with FdL" is their thing... they should have stepped in when DPG and Tatuaje started using it.
They allowed the seleccion de cazador to have the brown and white label and a FdL for years without saying anything. They let their trademark be diluted for years before stepping in. Pete may have a chance.
Basically if "Brown and White label with FdL" is their thing... they should have stepped in when DPG and Tatuaje started using it.
I can see both sides of this. Trademark protection comes down to whether or not there is a liklihood on confusion regarding the logos. Personally, I feel the flor's are different enough to not cause confusion.
I was threatened with legal action a few years ago by Cigars International over an event I produced in Illinois, called the Midwest Cigar Fest. They wanted us to think that people were confusing our event with theirs, which was CigarFest.
We are confident we would have won had it gone to court, however, CI has far deeper pockets than I do.
Trademark holders have a right and duty to protect their trademarks.
I definately side with Pete on this, and hope the courts do as well.
I also read online that Altadis served Pete at an event in Florida...that's a bs move, which further grows my disdain for Altadis
I was threatened with legal action a few years ago by Cigars International over an event I produced in Illinois, called the Midwest Cigar Fest. They wanted us to think that people were confusing our event with theirs, which was CigarFest.
We are confident we would have won had it gone to court, however, CI has far deeper pockets than I do.
Trademark holders have a right and duty to protect their trademarks.
I definately side with Pete on this, and hope the courts do as well.
I also read online that Altadis served Pete at an event in Florida...that's a bs move, which further grows my disdain for Altadis
Mitch
BOM 2/09-Keeper BOTtLe
Good points, I'm swayed.
But why now?
It's interesting to note that Altadis said nothing until just after Tatuaje was named the hottest premium cigar in the country by Cigar Insider...
Now don't hate me, and I am no lawyer but i think ALTADIS had to sue Pete just in order to keep there trademark. It happens with every large company who owns a valuable trademark. If they don't actively defend it then they loose the trademark. Disney and Apple are famous for suing everyone who uses there trademarks if they don't sue the street vendor who sells shirts with there trademarks they loose the legal claim to them. So just playing devils advocate but they probably were going to loose the trademark so they had to sue pete. If this is the case, (and i hope it is) they should be able to come to a mutally benifical agreement.
Soundwave13
BoM Feb 2010
I saw that Altadis' RyJ now has a 'Love Story' size.
Did they rip off A. Fuente? - I could not find any other precedent for the size/cigar-name...
If that's the case, than I wonder what justification they are using. Furthermore, I question their motive in doing it.
I hate to be quick to judge, but this seems highly suspicious.
Did they rip off A. Fuente? - I could not find any other precedent for the size/cigar-name...
If that's the case, than I wonder what justification they are using. Furthermore, I question their motive in doing it.
I hate to be quick to judge, but this seems highly suspicious.
So I wrote a letter to Altadis via thier website and here is the response:
Dear Joseph,
Thank you for your email. I understand your concern. However, it is
really not as it may appear to you.
Pete and I have known each other for years, are friends, have been
speaking and actually spoke several times over the weekend. You may not
be aware that Pete Johnson was the first to file a suit against us.
These sorts of things are technicalities in issues of this sort.
The issue is not as described. It's really very simple. The objection
is to the use of the stand alone Fleur de Lis as a trademark on cigar
bands and other cigar uses in instances where they very closely resemble
bands that we have already used for many, many years. It's not saying
he can't ever use the Fleur de lis as ornamentation and it doesn't
affect his current usage on his popular Tatuaje cigars. Pete
understands the issue. It may have not intentional but the usage caused
some confusion none-the-less.
We are in on-going discussions and both we and Pete have the intentions
to solve this among ourselves amicably and fairly and are confident that
we will do so. I'm pretty sure Pete will tell you the same thing if you
contact him.
Your concern is admirable but we're not bullying Pete. He knows that
too.
Thanks again for your email.
Janelle Rosenfeld
VP Premium Cigar Marketing & Corporate Communications
Altadis U.S.A.
5900 N Andrews Ave.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
(954) 938-7837 phone
(954) 938-7809 fax
Dear Joseph,
Thank you for your email. I understand your concern. However, it is
really not as it may appear to you.
Pete and I have known each other for years, are friends, have been
speaking and actually spoke several times over the weekend. You may not
be aware that Pete Johnson was the first to file a suit against us.
These sorts of things are technicalities in issues of this sort.
The issue is not as described. It's really very simple. The objection
is to the use of the stand alone Fleur de Lis as a trademark on cigar
bands and other cigar uses in instances where they very closely resemble
bands that we have already used for many, many years. It's not saying
he can't ever use the Fleur de lis as ornamentation and it doesn't
affect his current usage on his popular Tatuaje cigars. Pete
understands the issue. It may have not intentional but the usage caused
some confusion none-the-less.
We are in on-going discussions and both we and Pete have the intentions
to solve this among ourselves amicably and fairly and are confident that
we will do so. I'm pretty sure Pete will tell you the same thing if you
contact him.
Your concern is admirable but we're not bullying Pete. He knows that
too.
Thanks again for your email.
Janelle Rosenfeld
VP Premium Cigar Marketing & Corporate Communications
Altadis U.S.A.
5900 N Andrews Ave.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
(954) 938-7837 phone
(954) 938-7809 fax
I'm sure that Pete has this whole thing under control, I think it would be best to leave this to him and his attorneys. IMHO the best way to support Pete is not with threats or negative feedback toward Altadis but with our continued loyalty to the Tatuaje brand.
It's a nice letter, but the only reason Pete filed the decleatory judgement in CA was to force Altadisis' hand...it's a tactic used when someone keeps threatening to sue you, so you file it first, basically saying I'm tired of waiting, I want to clear my name