WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge dismissed a Cuban lawsuit yesterday over the termination of US trademark rights for its Havana Club rum, a victory for Bermuda-based Bacardi's effort to take over the brand name as its own in the United States.

The dispute dates back decades and is entangled in property seizures during the Cuban revolution, the trade embargo with the island nation and US trademark law.

Cuba's Havana Club is not sold in the United States because of the trade embargo, but the company got a US trademark for the name in 1976 for future opportunities in case the embargo is lifted. French spirits producer Pernod Ricard has partnered with the Cuban government to sell Cuba's Havana Club internationally and has successfully driven up sales around the world outside the United States.

Tom Gjelten, an NPR reporter and author of a book on the dispute, said Bacardi realises it's possible the Cuba trade embargo could be lifted and Cuba's Havana Club could become a threat to its rum sales in the United States.

Gjelten said Bacardi shrewdly bolstered its case by getting Congress to pass a law in 1998 that prevents the registration or renewal of trademarks connected with companies nationalised by the Cuban government.

Cubaexport, Cuba's state-owned export enterprise, filed the lawsuit three years ago against the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control after the agency refused to allow renewal of its trademark.

US District Judge Royce Lamberth cited that law yesterday in his decision to throw out Cubaexport's case.

"What this decision seems to be is one more nail in the coffin for Pernod Ricard trying to hold onto its use of the Havana Club trademark in the United States," said Gjelten, author of "Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba."

Pernod Ricard referred requests for comment to its attorneys, who did not respond to messages left by The Associated Press.

Bacardi fought to have Cuba's trademark cancelled and is now selling its own Havana Club rum in limited quantities in Florida, made in Puerto Rico so it doesn't violate the trade embargo. Bacardi has an application pending to register the mark in its own name.