Cuban Foreign Minister criticizes Biden’s position against Cuban brands in the U.S.

The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, this Monday criticized U.S. President Joseph Biden for signing a bill that prohibits the application or validation of trademarks confiscated by the Cuban government.

The head of Cuban diplomacy expressed on a post on X that that the objective of this regulation is to illegally grant access to Cuban trademarks that have been legally registered in the United States.

The White House announced that Biden signed a proposal approved by the U.S. Congress, which prevents the Patent and Trademark Office from recognizing, enforcing, or otherwise validating any claims to rights in these trademarks.

According to Johana Tablada, the deputy director of the General Directorate of the United States at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are 6,448 registered U.S. trademarks in Cuba and 1,177 in the process of registration.

On social media, Tablada stressed that all of them are protected by the Cuban Intellectual Property Authority, in contrast to the approach taken by the U.S. government when it signed the Stolen Trademarks Law.

The diplomat refers to the ongoing dispute between Cuba and the Bacardí company over the distribution rights for the island's iconic rum, Havana Club, worldwide.

Biden signed the document, while numerous organizations and individuals from around the world are urging him, directly or through international forums, to revise the White House's policy towards Cuba.

The demands include lifting the economic embargo, reversing the restrictions imposed by Donald Trump during his first term, and removing Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.