I already boycott their stuff since its crap anyways, so might as well make it official. Maybe letter writing, picketing, etc. Say the word Pete! hehe
Pete losing Flor de Lis symbol??
- Thread starter Mast3r_Shake
- Start date
I heard that Altadis went up to Pete Johnson and basically told him that he needs to lose the Flor de Lis symbol or they will sue him. Below you can see why they aren't too big on him using the Flor de Lis:
Knowing that Opus X has been successful with things like this recently I think Pete won't be able to fight them if this is true.
Can anyone verify this too?
I don't what they've got their panties in a wad for, afterall they stole it and the name.
There you go again letting logic get in the way! :grin:
Well, the logo is completely different, so there is no way that anyone could confuse the two. I show both to a retired patent/trademark attorney who said, Good luck Montecristo. Not going to happen!
They could still cost Pete a lot of heartburn and $$$$. But the bad PR would be brutal.
It won't be bad PR for Pete. Trust me on that. Quite the contrary. It's still his decision and he knows what they have said to him.
Oh, no. I meant bad PR for Altadis! Pete will likely come out smelling like a rose.
As he always does.. hehe.
Considering how many outside forces are trying to destroy the tobacco industry you'd think that there'd be some sort of solidarity within the companies. Screw the band, the good stuff is what's on the inside of it. Going outside right now to smoke a West Coast and raise it high (try to imagine Lion-o raising the Sword of Omens.) Good luck Pete.
So does this stem from you trying to compete more in the global market which will then include competition with their Cubans?
be careful when you come to Miami then... there are tons of Cubans here... if you need a safe house, let me know, I'll hook you up.
but on a serious note... I'll agree with others... Pete can put the word "tatuaje" written in crayon on his cigars and I'll gladly pay for that before I buy some NC Monte or all the other impostors out there.
Altadis may be trying to ride the coat tails of Tatuaje. They could bring up the trademark/logo issue enough to get everyone's attention and the lay low while they hope to lure customers or noobs to buy their smokes because it has a similar logo to the best smokes on the planet!
indyrob
BoM Feb '06 & Sept. '08
There isn't any conusion involved.
Here is the Montecristo graphic logo:
Crossed swords, flor de lis, and stylized typeface.
Here is the Tatuaje graphic logo:
Nothing similar and the flor de lis is a different device altogether.
The banding is also different- Montecristo has the flor up front and centered while the Tatuaje has it on the side...with the typeface as the center and it's the first theing you see in an open box, not the flor de lis.
Altadis can sue all they want. They are either thinking they can push thier weight around and hope that the little guy doesn't have the funds to mount a lenghty lawsuit and just submits to thier demands. A countersuit would be effective claiming libel or defamation is a good thing to push. Could say that the trademark infringement incident has hurt sales and reputation in the industry.
Here is the Montecristo graphic logo:
Crossed swords, flor de lis, and stylized typeface.
Here is the Tatuaje graphic logo:
Nothing similar and the flor de lis is a different device altogether.
The banding is also different- Montecristo has the flor up front and centered while the Tatuaje has it on the side...with the typeface as the center and it's the first theing you see in an open box, not the flor de lis.
Altadis can sue all they want. They are either thinking they can push thier weight around and hope that the little guy doesn't have the funds to mount a lenghty lawsuit and just submits to thier demands. A countersuit would be effective claiming libel or defamation is a good thing to push. Could say that the trademark infringement incident has hurt sales and reputation in the industry.
whether they have a real beef or not is moot. they can spend a lot more money on lawyers then pete can. The could litigate havana cellars into the ground. it sucks, but i would pick another battle to fight, pete (not that you asked my opinion).
your cigars are wonderful fleur de lis or not.
your cigars are wonderful fleur de lis or not.
I work for a company whose reputation and historical battling over trademark infringement is the stuff legends are made of. We recently sued to stop sales of a brand of pasta that used a resemblance of our logo on their product.
http://seattletrademarklawyer.com/blog/2009/4/22/gallo-sues-seattle-retailer-for-selling-spanish-made-gallo-b.html
A few more examples:
http://wineindustryinsight.com/?p=2378
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=5th&navby=docket&no=0120333cv0
http://www.ekmlegal.com/patent/patentArticle_15.php
Once a company establishes itself and seeks to gain market share, brand loyalty is formed in many ways - up to and including associating a particular image or label with a positive experience.
In essence, Pete should be flattered he has attained a position within the industry where his peer group fears his ability to capture their market - consumers who will jump ship trying his products due to word of mouth endorcements and a growing amount of press coverage. Now that he has attained that level of success, everything he does and every part of his success will be targeted by those less than suceessful or just very protective of their own hard-earned market share.
In the end, the cigar smoking public will decide who truly is successful through their spending habits. I will continue to smoke Pete's products because they are desirable - and not due to marketing hype. I read about them on this forum as I lurked for months, then bought a few and the rest is history. I would wager my experience is mirrored by many others.
Now, if only we could find more Tat Blacks around here !!!! lol
http://seattletrademarklawyer.com/blog/2009/4/22/gallo-sues-seattle-retailer-for-selling-spanish-made-gallo-b.html
A few more examples:
http://wineindustryinsight.com/?p=2378
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=5th&navby=docket&no=0120333cv0
http://www.ekmlegal.com/patent/patentArticle_15.php
Once a company establishes itself and seeks to gain market share, brand loyalty is formed in many ways - up to and including associating a particular image or label with a positive experience.
In essence, Pete should be flattered he has attained a position within the industry where his peer group fears his ability to capture their market - consumers who will jump ship trying his products due to word of mouth endorcements and a growing amount of press coverage. Now that he has attained that level of success, everything he does and every part of his success will be targeted by those less than suceessful or just very protective of their own hard-earned market share.
In the end, the cigar smoking public will decide who truly is successful through their spending habits. I will continue to smoke Pete's products because they are desirable - and not due to marketing hype. I read about them on this forum as I lurked for months, then bought a few and the rest is history. I would wager my experience is mirrored by many others.
Now, if only we could find more Tat Blacks around here !!!! lol