In a statement published on its website, the Foreign Ministry pointed out that the law, promoted by anti-Cuba sectors in the US Congress, reinforces the blockade against the Cuban economy.
“This expands the scope of Section 211 of the Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1999, which, according to the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization, infringes the international system of protection of intellectual property,” the MINREX said.
It also stressed that the legislation deals a new blow to the international system of protection of industrial property and confirms Washington’s contempt for the institutions of international law, in particular, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry stated that the No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act provides a patent of marque that widens the path to consolidate the theft of Cuban trademarks legitimately registered in the Trademark and Patent Office of the United States.
The US Government’s attitude contrasts with that of Cuban authorities, who have always acted in strict compliance with the international agreements on intellectual property to which Cuba and the United States are party, the text stressed.
The information specifies that currently, 6,448 US trademarks are registered and protected in Cuba.
The Foreign Ministry indicated that with the approval of this norm, Washington once again provides space “to the dark interests of the most aggressive anti-Cuba sectors whose manipulation of the US political system has become a practice.”
The MINREX pointed out that the same thing happened in 1996, when “the infamous and colonial Helms-Burton Act, which some also called the Bacardi Act” was approved.
With great participation in the drafting of the Helms-Burton Act and the so-called section 211, Bacardi shares the responsibility for the suffering imposed on Cuba by those who do not accept the path of independence and sovereignty chosen by the Cuban people, the MINREX added.
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