EU rules Anheuser-Busch owns ‘Bud’ name

[Fountain79]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13556802/

Anheuser-Busch Cos. announced another legal victory Monday in an ongoing fight to trademark its top-selling Budweiser beer in Europe.

The Board of Appeal for the European Union’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market ruled that Anheuser-Busch can register it’s trademark “Bud” beer throughout Europe, the company announced in a news release.

[ngant17]

1. I think there might be a problem here

Most people in the US may not know that Budweiser is the name of a beer that has been established in the Czech Republic for a few centuries. Anheuser-Busch has no legal right for this name, it has long been contested in CZ. It is copyright infringement, pure and simple, always has and I assume it always will be an infringement. Anyone who has been to CZ can drink the real "Budweiser". I don't think Anheuser has any way to market its beer in CZ.

I might be able to use "Bud" but I don't think it could get away with the full name.

[Fountain79]

2. Technically Budweiser was first used...

in the U.S. and not in the Czech republic. The Czech Republic is in the EU, so I am not sure where this leaves them.

[ngant17]

15. Wikipedia has some clarification here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budweiser_Budvar

"Budweiser is the name of a pilsner-style beer from the city of České Budějovice in Bohemia (Czech Republic), brewed since 1265. Its name is derived from the German name for the town, Budweis (something from Budweis being a Budweiser)...Anheuser-Busch claims that the Czech brewer has been distributing Budweiser as a commercial brand only since 1895, 19 years after the Budweiser brand was first brewed by Anheuser-Busch. The Czech company contends that its history, and thus its claim to the Budweiser name, goes back even further. King Otakar II of Bohemia granted independent brewers in the city of Budweis the right to produce beer as early as 1265. They did so in a style that became known as "Budweiser," much as beers brewed in the fashion of another Czech city, Plzeň (German: Pilsen), are referred to as "Pilsner", the company says."

This has been an on-going dispute between CZ and US. I'd have to side with CZ on this argument. If Anheuser wants to use "Bud", I don't think that would be a problem in the EU.

There's a similar legal battle between Cuba and the Bacardi company, The Cuban government is suing Bacardi-Martini USA in a U.S. court over ownership of the "Havana Club" trademark, a rum that is produced by that name in Cuba.

On August 6, 2001, a panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO) decided that a United States law violates international intellectual property rules. Bermuda-based Bacardi Ltd. and French Pernod Ricard S.A., in a joint venture with a Cuban state liquor firm, both have been using the Havana Club name to market their rum.

[Lost-in-FL]

7. Why market in Europe?

When Europeans have so many great beer choices.

[Fountain79]

8. Believe it or not...

It's very big in Ireland...

[Gatchaman]

9. I've had "real" Czech Budweiser...

...and I'd rather drink out of a toilet than have it again.

[Fountain79]

10. Proof positive that taste is purely a matter of opinion.... n/t

[JVS]

12. It might have been skunked

[devilgrrl]

3. Ooo yippee! Everyone in Europe gets to drink BUTTWIEPER

:beer: :puke:

[Fountain79]

5. I like the microbrews..and the heavy stuff...

but I also like budweiser, matter of opinion I guess.

[JVS]

13. When I was in Germany I bought an AB

The bottle looked just like a budweiser but with the initials of Anheuser Busch. The bottle said that they brewed it in the UK under license, and it actually wasn't bad. A few weeks later I was back in the US and got a 6 pack of buds and they tasted horrible. I think the europeans get a better recipe

[Fountain79]

14. Yeah...

It's brewed differently there...

[devilgrrl]

16. I stand corrected...

:-)

[Bluzmann57]

4. Sonofagun! I thought bud meant something else

Like friend, or pal, or...hmmm. I guess not.

[sweetheart]

6. Cool, lotsa people like good bud

I'm glad they got the trademark, 'cuz good bud'z hard to get, and now that
Anheuser-Bush is selling watery piss lager instead of quality bud, but anyone
who already enjoys bud already knows whether its trademarked or not.

:smoke:

[Fountain79]

11. Apparently they sell it here in the states...

the Budvar...but they call it Czechvar...I'll have to try it.

[Fountain79]

17. So I've tried the Czech "Bud"

Not the greatest beer I've ever had. Personally Stella Atrois ranks higher in taste for me, but alright.