Bermuda-based drinks giant Bacardi has demanded documents from US President Barack Obama in a row over a US decision to grant a licence to the Cuban government to use a trade name.

Bacardi has filed a freedom of information request asking for documents relating to the decision two weeks ago to grant the renewal of the Havana Club trademark to Cuba from President Obama and a range of US government departments.

Bacardi has always maintained it owns the Havana Club name and logo and that it has been illegally used by the Cuban government.

Eduardo Sanchez, senior vice-president and general counsel for Bacardi, said: “We are filing this freedom of information act request because the American people have the right to know the truth of how and why this unprecedented, sudden and silent action was taken by the United States government to reverse longstanding US and international public policy and law that protects against the recognition or acceptance of confiscations by foreign governments.”

The request asks for documents, communications and files from the US Patent and Trademark Office, which approved the January U-turn, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the US Department of State, as well as the executive office of the President.

Mr Sanchez said: “When the highest and most-powerful government agencies are not transparent about critical changes in policy, the public has the right and the responsibility to use freedom of information act requests and other tools at their disposal to hold the government accountable for its actions.”

The US government granted a renewal of the Havana Club trademark to the Cuban government and its partner, French-based drinks multinational Pernod Ricard — a move Bacardi says breaches an Act of Congress dating from 1998, which protected trademarks related to trademarks taken over by the Cuban government after the 1959 revolution that propelled Fidel Castro’s Communist regime to power in Cuba.

Bacardi said the Patent and Trademark Office granted the renewal of the registration of the trademark “after years of inactivity” and within 48 hours.

The trademark originally belonged to Cuban rum-makers Jose Arechabala, whose family company was nationalised after Castro took over.

The family left Cuba, stopped producing rum and allowed the US trademark registration to lapse in 1973. The Cuban government registered the trademark in the US in 1976 and was assigned to Pernod Ricard in 1993.

Since 1994, Cuban Havana Club has been sold around the world by the 50/50 joint venture between the Cuban government and Pernod Ricard, but not in the US.

Bacardi obtained the Arechabala family’s remaining rights in the brand in 1994 and began selling limited amounts of Havana Club rum in the US, which sparked a legal battle with Pernod Ricard, which was successful in two of the first three court decisions in the matter.

After numerous legal battles, the Cuban government’s US registration of the trademark expired in 2006.

Mr Sanchez said that the US government was ignoring its own laws in granting the trademark again to Cuba.

A Bacardi statement said: “Bacardi has been a long-time supporter of trademark rights for legitimate trademark holders and remains committed to defending the fundamental rights against confiscations without compensation.

“The company supports both legislation and legal action to uphold the principle of protection of trademarks and ensuring trademarks that have been confiscated by the Cuban government without consent of their rightful owners not be recognised by the international community.

“Bacardi has and will continue to pursue all the necessary legal and other actions to defend its position surrounding the legitimacy of its rights and ownership of Havana Club rum. As the company has maintained all along, Bacardi is the legitimate owner of the brand.”