Dominican Republic
La Aurora, the original factory in the Dominican Republic, and Padilla Cigars have finally signed an amicable agreement in which La Aurora will allow Padilla Cigars to use an alternate version of their current logo, “to reflect a sufficiently abstract version of a lion design to avoid confusion in the market place and make a separate commercial impression in the minds of the consumer.” Padilla Cigars agrees to abandon an existing US trademark registration with La Aurora’s consent.
La Aurora, owned by the León family since 1903, uses the iconic lion to identify their products (La Aurora, León Jimenes, Family Reserve, and Untamed) since 1926, and the American consumer has already related the symbol of the lion with La Aurora. For that reason, La Aurora claims ownership of the lion as a symbol of their brand of cigars and related products.
The agreement states that Padilla Cigars may use an abstract lion to prevent consumer confusion now and for all releases in the future. La Aurora will allow Padilla Cigars the right to sell out of their remaining inventory of non-tobacco materials with the commitment from Padilla Cigars to not go back to the old design. La Aurora also agrees not to go against any third parties who may purchase these products during the sell off period.