Court decision leaves Budějovický Budvar winners in EU trademark battle
The Czech brewer Budějovický Budvar scored a major victory on Thursday when the top European Court ruled that global rival Anheuser-Busch InBev could not register the Budweiser name as a EU-wide trademark. The decision brought to an end a 14-year-long legal dispute, meaning that Budějovický Budvar will not have to fear that its own trademarks in 19 European countries could be challenged. In Great Britain the Budweiser name, for example, is used both by Budvar and Anheuser-Busch, but in Germany only Budvar has rights to the brand.
The decision means that trademarks already registered by Czech brewer Budvar in 19 European countries will stand on firm ground; had the court upheld the appeal by Anheuser-Busch the story might have been different, paving the way for legal challenges and still more legal disputes; Petr Samec is the spokesman for Budějovický Budvar:
“This decision will fully protect our brewery’s trademarks that were registered earlier in 19 EU countries. Had the court ruled otherwise and Anheuser-Busch been allowed to register a blanket-EU trademark, it could have led to a situation where two companies would have rights to the Budweiser name.”
Anheuser-Busch InBev - which owns the right to the Budweiser or Bud names in 23 EU states - reacted by stating clearly that the decision would have no impact on their business; in a written statement its spokeswoman stressed that the firm’s application for the EU-wide registered trademark had been nothing more than an attempt to broaden existing trademark rights the firm believes are rightfully its own.
Historically, meanwhile, it’s worth noting that both Anheuser-Busch and Budějovický Budvar have sold Budweiser beer since the late 19th century though founded on opposite sides of the pond: the former was founded in St Louis, Missouri, the latter in Ceske Budejovice, south Bohemia (Budweis in German), with a brewing tradition said to go back all the way to the 13th century.
