Anheuser-Busch loses Budweiser trademark war in Europe
Bud
(LUXEMBOURG) - Global brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev on Thursday lost its court battle with Czech rival Budejovicky Budvar over a bid to get a European Union-wide trademark for the Budweiser brand.
The European Court of Justice ruling puts an end to Anheuser-Busch's long-running legal fight with Budvar to reserve the exclusive rights to the Budweiser brand in Europe.
"Anheuser-Busch may not register the word 'Budweiser' as a (European) Community trademark for beer," said a statement from the EU's highest court.
In 1996, US brewer Anheuser-Busch applied to register Budweiser for an EU trademark but Budejovicky Budvar sought to block the application because it used the name in Austria and Germany.
The EU's Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market rejected Anheuser-Busch's application. The US brewer appealed to the European General Court, which upheld the trademark office's decision in March 2009.
While the ruling means that Anheuser-Busch cannot get a blanket trademark for the 27-nation European Union as a whole, the brewer can have trademarks in individual EU markets.
Belgian brewer InBev bought Anheuser-Busch for 52 billion dollars in 2008 with ambitions to transform the Budweiser brand into its flagship international product.
Judgement of the European Court of Justice in Case C-214/09 P - Anheuser-Busch v OHIM - full text
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