THE CUBA REVIEW 



29 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



MINING'EQUIPMENT FOR CUBA 



Compania Minera Buena Vista (Buena 

 Vista Mining Co.), Bernaza 3, Habana, 

 Cuba: 



"We are in the market for both new and 

 used mining machinery, for both development 

 work and operation, including engines, boil- 

 ers, hoisting engines, ore cars, track, piping, 

 steel cable, etc., and would be pleased to re- 

 ceive catalogues and price-lists from the lead- 

 ing supply companies in the States. Can you 

 put is in touch with dealers?" — ^Baltimore 

 (Md.) Manuf. Record. 



STRUCTURAL STEEL WANTED IN CUBA 



A. F. Delbert, engineer, Hotel Pasaje, 

 Habana, Cuba: 



"Kindly announce that I have closed a con- 

 tract to build a large central sugar mill on this 

 island, and that I shall be in the market for 

 the structural steel for building and other ad- 

 juncts. Address me at New Orleans, La. It 

 will be a week yet before we are ready to an- 

 nounce the officers of this new company." 

 — ^Baltimore (Md.) Manuj. Record. 



TRADE-MARK RIGHTS 



Manufacturers who contemplate entering 

 the Cuban market may well consider in 

 advance the position of their trade-marks 

 under the law of that country. The law 

 provides that only those who are residents 

 and taxpayers in Cuba may register trade- 

 marks. Foreign marks which have been 

 registered in the country of origin, however, 

 may be "deposited" and protected in the 

 same manner as national trade-marks. The 

 procedure of registration is somewhat com- 

 plicated, and those who attempt to save 

 money by dispensing with the services of an 

 attorney are likely to put some trade-mark 

 "pirate" on notice, and may find that the 

 trade-mark has meanwhile been locally 

 registered. 



The danger is especially great in the case 

 of articles bearing unregistered marks which 

 have been widely advertised in the United 

 States and which are well known. As an 

 example, a Cuban druggist registered the 

 mark of a preparation well known in the 

 United States, and when shipments of these 

 goods arrived applied to the Cuban Govern- 



ment to exclude them as an infringement of 

 his trade-mark. It is said to have cost the 

 owners .$900 to buy up his rights, in addition 

 to $300 in attorneys' fees. Foreign marks 

 are not recognized until registered, after 

 which complete protection is given. — Special 

 Agent Garrard Harris. 



GASOLINE ENGINES POPULAR IN CUBA 



There is a good demand throughout Cuba 

 for gasoline engines for use in pumping water 

 for irrigation purposes. The season, however, 

 for selling them is in the late summer or au- 

 tumn when preparations are being made for 

 the dry winter season. 



Agricultural machinery and apparatus, 

 "employed by farmers for preparing the 

 ground and gathering the crops, also for im- 

 proving and cleaning the crops without es- 

 sentially changing their nature," is duitable 

 under No. 216 of the import tariff, "with 

 copper or copper alloys as the material of 

 chief value," 10% ad valorem to the world 

 at. large, with a 25% reduction to the product 

 of the United States, or 7.5% ad valorem; 

 "other," the same general rate with a 20% 

 reduction to American products, or 8%. 



Hydrauhc, petroleima, gas, and hot or com- 

 pressed air motors, when not to be used in 

 agricultural work as stated above or imported 

 by shipowners, are dutiable under No. 218 

 of the tariff, which provides for a net duty of 

 20% ad valorem to the products of the United 

 States, when copper or copper alloj'-s is not 

 the material of chief value; otherwise, 18.75 

 per cent ad valorem. 



Terms of Sale Similar to those in the U. S. 



It is usual to grant more liberal terms of 

 credit to firms in good standing on these 

 products, but as the business is almost en- 

 tirely in the hands of American exporters, 

 the general terms of sale are not greatly dif- 

 ferent from those prevailing in the United 

 States. If an American firm has a traveUng 

 representative covering the extreme southern 

 territory of the United States, it might we 

 well for him to make a trip to Habana from 

 Tampa, or Key West when an opportunity 

 presents, studying trade conditions and mak- 

 ing an endeavor to secure a good representa- 

 tive for his firm's products. — Consul H. M. 

 Wolcott, Habana. 



