TTATS#2003 17-43 FAX RABINOWITZ BOUDIN Boors008 RABINOWITZ, BOUDIN, STANDARD, KRINSKY & LIEBERMAN, P.C. ATTORNEYS AT LAW 749 BROADWAY, FIFTH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10005-0548 TELEPHONE (212) 254-1111 teouceacae FACSIMILE 2) 764814 vere gebore ae somes eae “ “ee ane aie segenseaet en Se, SST FAX TRANSMISSION TO: Post Registration Division (703) 746-3200 OF: ‘United States Patent and Trademark Office FROM: Christopher J. Klatell DATE: November 19, 2003 N.Y. TIME: RE: Reg. No. 2,197,155 NUMBER OF PAGES (INCLUDING THIS PAGE): 4 TOTAL NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS: CLIENT: Vegas Robaina Payment and original to follow by U.S. Mail. CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE ‘The dcameats aceoptnvig tt eleeapy teaminin conta normeton bch sonoma aed peeeged. To lkreain Intended et be fr he eof he nda rent named on is rans Ityu are a iced eco soe oe Deeb noes A An cesar caying dsibuon ose hi ecpledntrmaton Sel) posed, Ifsoctere eed {is tlecop n area, ae ney by phn nein at ne en ara th eee ote ea ecunen se ont toyou Rech anyone other then te lntaded recent ne oie ay aterany eet ov wrk pretest peng 6 PAGE 1/4* RCVD AT 11/19/2003 4:44:18 PM [Eastern Standard Time] * SVR:USPTO-EFXRF-2/4 * DNIS:7463200 * CSID: * DURATION (tnmTTATS#2003 17-43 FAX RABINOWITZ BOUDIN 002/004 RABINOWITZ, BOUDIN, STANDARD, KRINSKY & LIEBERMAN, P.C. ATTORNEYS AT LAW 740 BROADWAY AT ASTOR PLACE, FIFTH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10003-8518 TELEPHONE (212) 254-1117 eu osc coma: pret raCSIILE @¥7 oreante ent ere, STE eS, aaa ssaeven, "aa OEE Cro. November 19, 2003 Via Facsimile and U.S, Mail BOX PostReg FEE Commissioner for Trademarks 2900 Crystal Drive, Suite 3B-30 Arlington, Virginia 22202-3513 Re: Mark: VEGAS ROBAINA. International Class: 34 Applicant: CORPORACION HABANOS, S.A. Reg. No.: 2,197,155 Dear Sir/Madam: Enclosed please find a Declaration of Excusable Nonuse Under Section 8 and the $100 filing fee. Also enclosed ts a SASE postcard. Please stamp and return upon receipt. Please direct any inquiries to the undersigned. Sincerely, David B. Goldstein Enclosures PAGE 24° ROVD AT 11/19/2003 4:44:18 PM [Eastern Standard Time] * SVR:USPTO-EFXRF-214 * DNIS:7483200* CSITTATS#2003 17-43 FAX RABINOWITZ BOUDIN 003/004 IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ‘Mark: ‘VEGAS ROBAINA, RegistrationNo.: 2,197,155 Intl Class: 34 DECLARATION OF EXCUSABLE NONUSE UNDER SECTION 8 ‘The undersigned declares that: 1. Lam a representative of CORPORACION HABANOS, S.A., a corporation organized under the laws of the Republic of Cuba, and am authorized to execute this declaration on behalf of said corporation. 2 Said corporation is the owner of the above-identified registration issued on October 20, 1998. 3. ‘The mark, VEGAS ROBAINA, is currently in use in commerce in Cuba and in numerous other countrics, but is not currently in use in the United States. 4. This mark is not in usc in commesce in the United States solely because any such ‘use is prohibited by the United States Treasury Department's Cuban Asscts Control Regulations, 31 CFR. 515.201(b). These regulations implement the United States! trade and financial embargo against Cuba and Cuban nationals, They prohibit, inter alia, the importation of any goods in which Cuba or any Cuban national has any interest of any nature whatsoever, direct or indirect; prohibit the transfer of any property or property interest, including the licensing of trademarks, from any Cuban national to any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; and prohibit any payment to Cuba or a Cuban national. Thus, the Cuban Assets Control Regulations prohibit CORPORACION HABANOS, 8.A., a Cuban national, 31 CFR. 515.302(a)(2), from using the mark VEGAS ROBAINA in commerce in the United States, and therefore the mark VEGAS ROBAINA has not been used in commerce in the United States. 5. The Regulations explicitly provide that Cuban entities can register trademarks in the United States, 31 CFR § 515.527(a)(1), despite the fact that the Regulations also prohibit these entities from using the marks in commerce in the United States. Thus, this indicates that the inteat of the United States is to provide protection to the trademarks of Cuban businesses uring the period of time that trade between Cuba and the United States is prohibited, and that tho United States does not intend for the embargo to be permanent. PAGE 3i4* RCVD AT 11/19/2003 4:44:18 PM [Eastern Standard Time] * SVR:USPTO-EFXRF-214 * DNIS:7483200* CSITTATS#2003 18-46 FAX RABINOWITZ BOUDIN r 1004/0048 6. _ CORPORACION HABANOS, S.A. intends to sell and transport goods using this ‘mark in the United States as soon as the above-cited prohibition is lifted. That CORPORACION HABANOS, S.A. is currently using the mark in trade in other countries, where there are no prohibitions on trade, demonstrates that it has the requisite intent to use the mark in commerce, has not abandoned the mark and is not merely seeking to reserve a right in tho mark, 7. The special circumstance of the trade embargo with Cuba excuse as a matter of law CORPORACION HABANOS, S.A.’s nonuse of the mark, as the nonuse is not due any intention to abandon the mark. APPOINTMENT OF DOMESTIC REPRESENTATIVE Michael Krinsky, of Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky and Licberman, P.C., 740 Broadway, Fifth Floor, New York, New York 10003-9518, is hereby designated registrant's representative upon whom notice of process in proceedings the mark may be served. DECLARATION “The undersigned being hereby wamed that willful false statements and the like 60 ‘made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and that such -willfal false statements may jeopardize the validity of this document, declares that he is properly authorized to execute this document on behalf of the registrant; the registrant is the owner of the above identified registration; the trademark is not in uso in the United States for the reasons stated above; and all statements made of his own knowledge are true and all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true. fete) Datod: October 24,2003 2 force *RCVD AT 11/19/2003 4:44:18 PM (Eastern Standard Time] * SVR:USPTO-EFXRF-2/4 * DNIS:7463200* CSI