Cuban Merch Illegal?

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by Footbag

I've had this thought about certain Cuban merchandise after being gifted a Cohiba T-shirt from Cuba.

We've all seen Cuban brand merchandise being sold in our local B&M's. Cohiba ashtrays, etc... We'll I'm assuming they're not from Cuba, given the embargo. But the alternative choice would be a copyright violation. A similar violation to manufacturing a knock-off Louis Vuitton purse. In other words, it's likely that all Cuban merch is illegal regardless of where it's produced.

Don't worry, I'm not going to turn you in. Just the way my crazy mind works. Given the fact that even Wal-Mart occasionally finds itself with some Cuban goods, I wonder how many of the domestic ashtrays are actually "embargo ashtrays". What are your thoughts?

My thought, and this is by no means an expert opinion, is that if the shirt, ashtray etc. is manufactured in, let's say, China, then there is no violation of the embargo.

Just my interpretation. I could be dead wrong.