No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, recognizing and safeguarding intellectual property rights is a vital interest for the United States and a critical component of our leadership, which has historically championed strong IP rights.

Consistent and strong IP rights ensure that business will seek to innovate in the U.S. and enjoy the protections granted under our Constitution and laws.

It goes without saying that strong IP protections require that the government respect IP ownership and the right of IP owners to control who exercises their rights.

Similarly obvious is that the government should not condone IP theft.

That is exactly what has happened with the trademarks stolen by the Communist government of Cuba.

As if oppressing and brutalizing the Cuban people was not enough, the Castro regime also stole IP from legitimate owners during its vicious takeover of Cuba.

This included stealing valuable trademarks, such as ``Havana Club,'' from the Arechabala family.

The Arechabala family for years invested their time and resources building a world-renowned brand for their rum only to have the Communists steal it along with the rest of their property, including all of their production facilities.

The Castro regime then embarked on decades of exploiting that IP, manufacturing and exporting rum using the ``Havana Club'' trademark they stole.

The Arechabala family never recovered from what happened to them, but they transferred their rightful interests in their trademarks to the Bacardi family and company in the U.S.

As a world leader when it comes to IP rights, it should be clear that the U.S. government would side with Bacardi in a dispute between them and the Castro regime over these trademarks.

But in 2016, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, recognized the Cuban regime's claim on the ``Havana Club'' trademark even though it was stolen by the Cuban regime.

That is why I introduced this bill, which prohibits the executive branch from recognizing, enforcing, or validating any trademark used in connection with a business or assets that were confiscated without the consent of the original owner or successor-in-interest.

I was delighted to be joined by my Democratic colleague, Ms. Wasserman Schultz of Florida, in introducing it, and the bill has since been cosponsored by 17 other Members from both parties on the way to being overwhelmingly approved by the Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan basis.

We all agree that the U.S. government should not reward those who would steal and exploit trademarks, or any other IP, without the consent of the legitimate owners.

Allowing Cuba to propagate its misappropriation of IP also sets a harmful precedent for international IP protections.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation.

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