The La Flor Dominicana Chisel, one of the strongest and most original cigars on the market, is now protected by a trademark. Cigarmaker Litto Gomez, who created the Chisel shape in 2003, received acceptance for his trademark application on April 4. The trademark for the Chisel shape is retroactive to 2006, and will be valid until 2016.

“I thought it was a long shot,” Gomez told Cigar Aficionado in an interview yesterday. “They rejected it four or five times—we kept trying.”

While the name “Chisel” is also registered, this trademark applies to the distinctive shape of the cigar, which is a flattened figurado with a head that looks like a handtool or the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument. Gomez got the idea for the shape while driving in the Dominican Republic one day while chewing on a traditional torpedo. By the time he arrived at his destination, the cigar had taken on the shape of a chisel. He liked the way it felt, and instructed workers in his factory to replicate the shape.

The trademark, held by Premium Imports Inc. the company owned by Gomez and his wife, Ines Lonenzo-Gomez, is registration No. 3,115,620. Cigar Aficionado does not know of another shape to have a trademark.

“As unique as it was, it was very simple,” said Gomez. “And the fact that it’s patented, it’s very official.”

Gomez has a knack for innovation dating back to his creation of the El Jocko Perfectos, a cigar with a bulbous shape reminiscent of a fire hydrant. “We like to innovate,” he said. “It’s part of the fun.”

Gomez makes the Chisel in a variety of blends, including the La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Chisel, the No. 10 cigar of 2010.