July 8, 2013 (Miami, Fla.) — Long time friends Frank Herrera of Herrera Cigars and Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate announced today that they have settled a dispute over the HERRERA trademark.

While the terms of the settlement are confidential, the agreement focuses on protecting the HERRERA brand under a license. Hispanic surnames are powerful indicators of quality in the premium cigar industry, and both parties have mutually agreed to protect the trademark HERRERA.

“This is a great example of how disputes can be resolved quickly and efficiently when cigar people get together, and find a mutually agreeable solution,” said Frank Herrera of Herrera Cigars. “I have worked for years in the cigar industry building my name and I believe that the agreement entered into today will serve that purpose and protect it for the future.” Frank Herrera added.

Jonathan Drew, Co-Founder of Drew Estate adds “I believe in the cigar community, the industry personalities, and the subculture that supports and sustains its very core. Frank Herrera is a dear friend of mine, whom I respect greatly. The difficult circumstance arose when we brought Willy Herrera on board with Drew Estate and both men obviously felt entitled to the Herrera name. It took us a little while to work out the details due to our busy schedules – but in the end we found a solution that allows both men to reach for the stars and achieve their deserved dreams. DE is now comfortable licensing the mark from Frank in this Co-existence agreement. At Drew Estate we have always promoted innovation and creativity within the cigar biz. Legal nonsense just gets in the way”.

Frank Herrera has specialized in cigar law matters for over 12 years, and over the past 5 years has offered cigars under the LA CARIDAD DEL COBRE brand and later under the FRANK HERRERA BIOGRAPHY brand. Willy Herrera joined Drew Estate in 2011 and will continue to produce HERRERA ESTELI and future products at the Drew Estate factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Frank Herreraʼs HERRERA Cigars and Drew Estateʼs HERRERA ESTELI will be featured at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (“IPCPR”) Convention and International Trade Show in July.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.