The European Union has asked the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to intervene in a dispute concerning use of the name "Havana Club" for rum in the United States, WTO officials said yesterday. The two sides will now have two months in which to find agreement.

A court in New York has authorised the US company, Bacardi, to use the name "Havana Club", which is already used by a company called Havana Club Holding, a joint venture between French drinks group Pernod Ricard and a Cuban state-owned company.