Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Electronic Filing System. http://estta.uspto.

gov
ESTTA Tracking number: ESTTA317311
Filing date: 11/17/2009
IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Proceeding 91186534
Party Plaintiff
Corporacion Habanos, S.A., Empresa Cubana del Tabaco, dba Cubatabaco
Correspondence David B. Goldstein
Address Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky, et al
111 Broadway, Suite 1102
New York, NY 10006-1901
UNITED STATES
dgoldstein@rbskl.com
Submission Opposition/Response to Motion
Filer's Name David B. Goldstein
Filer's e-mail dgoldstein@rbskl.com
Signature /David B. Goldstein/
Date 11/17/2009
Attachments Ana Lopez Garcia Dec.PDF ( 8 pages )(543050 bytes )
hc exh1.PDF ( 45 pages )(1804774 bytes )
hc exh 2.PDF ( 27 pages )(5395351 bytes )
hc exh 3a.pdf ( 6 pages )(339978 bytes )
hc exh 4.PDF ( 14 pages )(1974059 bytes )
hc exh 5.PDF ( 13 pages )(4579370 bytes )
hc exh 6.PDF ( 23 pages )(4289033 bytes )
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EXCELENCIAS
Turísticas del Caribe & Las Américas
[ Tourism Treasures in the Caribbean and the Americas]

Tenth Festival del Habano

Havana 2008
February 25-29

10
Years of
TRIUMPHS
 REAL WORKS OF ART TO KEEP CI GARS
I N EXCELLENT CONDI TI ON
AND ENHANCE THEI R AROMA AND FLAVOR

The art of
Humidors
Few things are as perfect and complete as a good humidor, fruit of the harmonious combination
of the natural aroma of Cuban cedar, which contains essential oils that enrich and preserve the
peculiar smell of Habana cigars, and of human talent directed towards a beautiful and
functional work of art.
Perhaps there lies the key of the success of the creations of the DECUBA group, craftsmen in
Pinar del Rio, the “land of the best tobacco in the world”, who are deservedly famous for the
perfection and striking appearance of their pieces.
Some of their secrets can be inhaled and touched at first glance, like the fact that the wood
used is all natural cedar taken from the hills of Cuba, and dried for over three years to be ideal.
Each design, besides being exclusive, is worked out by consensus over months and sometimes
years by the designers, cabinetmakers, carvers, inlay specialists, and painters who comprise the
DECUBA Group. They, together with the Aroma y Sabor Group, also in Pinar del Rio, work to
handle major orders, without ignoring details, to the point that they mount their works by hand,
which confers on each one, even if they are similar, a distinctive touch, noticeable for its art
and quality.
Hence it is not unusual that they get orders from the whole world, and their works are
distributed in places as far away as
[ photo of corner joint]

[ text in lower right]

The artisans take painstaking care over each detail
while making the humidors.
[ text below photo]

The humidors must close so as not to leave a gap of even a millimeter.

as Hong Kong, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Andorra, Luxury gift
Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg, Lebanon, or Mexico. However, its
primary client is Habanos S.A., which for eight years has been Tenth Festival Humidor
making major orders in numbered Special Series, which it sells in
over fifty countries through the international franchise “La Casa This humidor with very special
characteristics, devoted to the
del Habano.” tenth anniversary of the Festival del
Each humidor has a hygrometer to determine the humidity inside Habano which will be auctioned off on
the last night of the event, is truly a
it, and a humidifier with distilled water, whose function it is to collector’s item.
It is two meters high, it is completely
add the humidity needed to keep the cigars in proper conditions. covered in Macasser ebony, with no
tricks of any kind and it will hold 700
These accessories distinguish a humidor from boxes or other cigars of the famous Habano S.A.
containers for storing cigars. brands.
The Tenth Festival Humidor was
As Milan Dominguez, founder and coordinator of the DECUBA made completely by hand by the
artists of the DeCuba Group and
Group explains, the ideal for keeping a cigar is to maintain a Aroma y Sabor, experts in the art of
making humidors. In order to
relative humidity of 65-70 percent, which is achieved with a good
elaborate this piece, unique in its
humidor. form, style, and content, over thirty
different variants of design were
Curiously, Cuba, and especially Pinar del Rio, because of its considered in order to reach the final
one. Its veneers, painstakingly placed
climate conditions of relative high humidity, is regarded as a by hand, its gold fittings, and its cedar
great natural humidor. That explains why the drying and curing interior which gives Havana cigars a
unique aroma, make this piece
of tobacco leaves is done in this manner. unquestionably a singular and perfect
gift for a good cigar lover.
However, the story changes for other countries where the
relative humidity is very low, and hence the cigar dries up, chips
away, or loses its wrapping, unless constant care is taken to
keep ideal conditions of temperature and relative humidity.
That is where the humidor most comes into its own.
It is not at all easy to make them. The first step, explains Milan
Dominguez, is to know what the customer wants. Then comes
defining the design, the shape, the size, the colors and fittings to
be used and its purposes, whether it is to satisfy a special order, to go along with a trademark
wave in the market, or to create a new product.
Subsequently the natural wood is selected, taking into account their range of colors and their
quality, where it is crucial that it be uniform, compact, and quite dry, because otherwise the
humidor twists and loses its properties; in closing it must leave not even a millimeter of
difference between its lids.
After this step comes a whole work of carpentry, where the parts are cut, calibrated, polished,
and joined, always using dowels, not nails. Then the container is decorated, whether with
carvings directly in the wood, with serigraphs using special inks and techniques, or with
inlaying, by which small pieces of natural woods of different colors are joined to make
marvelous drawings, or the corporate image or imprint of the Habanos trademark.

[ text at bottom]
Some of these pieces have curious shapes, thanks to the creativity and skill of the craftsmen.
The finishing in painting is likewise decisive, because of the choice of the type of varnish,
whether with greater or less sheen, or even completely matte. In all cases it is only used for
exteriors, never inside the humidor where the odor of the polished wood will enhance the
cigar’s flavor.
Finally the humidifier and the hygrometer are mounted, and the quality of the finished humidor
is tested exhaustively. It can be rejected for a small detail. That rigor explains why DECUBA
takes over six years with all its productions, which are accepted by Habanos S.A. under the
strictest quality controls.
This group of artisans, where each has his role, in time creating works together, in addition to
having the license of use granted by Habanos S.A. which is a recognition of their quality results,
allowing it to produce and sell Montecristo and Vegas Robaina brand humidors, also creates
other marvels of its own, with the understanding that each piece that comes from its hands is
both utilitarian and a fine work of art.

Text: Ernesto Montero

Photos: Ferval

[ text in lower right]

When they are finished, many humidors are seriagraphed with specific Habanos trademarks.