We're going to call this band a "hybrid counterfeit," for lack of a better term. It's intended to look like the genuine Cuban Cohiba pictured at top, but it claims Dominican origin. The only Dominican-made Cohiba that may be legally sold in the United States is the one pictured below. It's manufactured by General Cigar Holdings Inc. in a free trade zone in Santiago and exported to the United States; General registered the Cohiba name in the States in 1978. General does not sell their Cohiba or claim ownership in the Dominican Republic, where several other companies make cigars under the Cohiba name. Who owns Cohiba in the Dominican Republic is a matter for the Dominican courts.
Detecting an illegitimate Dominican Cohiba in the United States is simple. If it doesn't look like the General band below, it infringes on General's trademark. "Illegitimate" is probably a more appropriate term than "counterfeit" for the band above, in that it clearly makes no attempt to copy the look of General's band.
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