Trouble brewing

Anheuser-Busch InBev has lost its right to market beer using the trademark ÔÇ£BudÔÇØ in the European Union, after Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar said it had already registered the name in France, Austria, and former Czechoslovakia in 1958. Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in Ceske Budejovice, which was known as Budweis by its German-speaking inhabitants, and beer has been brewed there since 1265.┬á Budvar disputed that "Bud" is the geographic nickname for the Bohemian city known for producing a "mildly bitter" beer with "a sweetish taste and a distinctive aroma." The Czech brewery argued that what is called a ÔÇ£BudweiserÔÇØ beer is not actually a brand, but rather a beer made according to Buejovice or Budweis tradition, similar to how what we call frankfurters are arguably sausages made according to the Frankfurt tradition.  The European Court of Justice ruled in favor of Budvar, saying "taking account of all the documents submitted by Budvar, it must be held that Budvar has provided proof that the signs concerned were used in the course of trade." ┬á Although the trademark dispute has been long running, the two brewers had co-existed for a long time without too much in the way of legal disputes, particularly during the Cold War days when the former Czecholoslovakia was a separate market. Things changed when the Berlin Wall collapsed and the Czech brewer moved into a position to sell its beer in Western Europe. Anheuser-Busch, brewer of AmericaÔÇÖs first national beer brand, has been using the Budweiser trademark in the US since 1876, almost 19 years before Budvar was formed. Anheuser said it already has trademark protection in 23 of the European Union states, and will now have to rely on registering its trademark in each additional individual member state.