As relations and trade slowly begin to thaw with Cuba, what is
the state of intellectual property protection there? According to a
report today in the Washington Post, I suppose
"could be worse" is a good summary. There seems to be a
willingness by the Castro government to protect consumer products
brands such as Coke, but when it comes to entertainment
like Seinfeld, not so much. Plus the Cuban government
is upset that the US has not done more to protect important Cuban
brands such as Cohiba cigars, and much litigation has ensued about
that.
The attitude on the island seems to be that that things like
entertainment should just be free. They charge almost nothing for
people to go to movies, and there are no commercials on Cuban TV.
So it's not like they are making much money from the pirating
of things like the show about nothing. But of course the creators
of that entertainment, rightfully, feel they should be compensated
for their use.
