EU court upholds Budweiser trademarks

A European Union high court upheld several Anheuser-Busch trademarks and dismissed a challenge from Czech brewing rival Budvar on Tuesday, the latest ruling in a century of disputes relating to the name "Budweiser."

Budejovicky Budvar NP asked the court to overturn 12 EU trademark applications of Anheuser-Busch Cos., claiming they infringe on Budvar's right under French law to the term Budweiser.

The trademarks cover promotional goods including clothing, beermats, neon signs and glassware.

"These decisions also are significant because they recognize Anheuser-Busch as the rightful owner of the Bud and Budweiser name and establishes trademark rights beyond the beer category," said Anheuser-Busch International Chief Executive Tom Santel.

Budvar, though, said the ruling would have little effect.

"From the point of view of beer sales by Budejovicky Budvar, today's decision is not a substantial threat to our business activities in the EU," said spokesman Petr Samec. "Furthermore, no decision is final and Budejovicky Budvar will consider an appeal after studying the verdict."

Budvar can only appeal the recent court decision on technical grounds.

Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in Ceske Budejovice _ called Budweis by the German-speaking people that populated the area at the time. Beer has been brewed there since 1265.

The founders of Anheuser-Busch used the name Budweiser for their product because it was well-known in their German homeland. The St. Louis brewery got its start in 1852. It began producing Budweiser, America's first national beer brand, in 1876.

Tuesday's ruling was the latest round in the centurylong dispute between the two companies that has played out in dozens of courts all over the world.

Anheuser applied for the trademarks in April 1996 at the Portugal-based Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, a one-stop shop for EU-wide trademarks.

From Europe, the dispute has spilled over to Asia, and last October, Budvar was able to get its trademark registered in China despite a legal challenge from Anheuser. The move gave the Czech brewer the right to sell its lager in the fast-growing Chinese market for the first time.

Anheuser won the registration for several words related to Budweiser which it applied to such products as stationery, cleaning products, clothing, pastry and confectionary.

Budvar opposed the granting of the trademarks, arguing they would weaken its reputation. The court ruled that Budvar could not prove that.