Budweiser trademark dispute

Last updated
American Budweiser sold in the European Union as "Bud" Bud and Budvar.jpg
American Budweiser sold in the European Union as "Bud"

The Budweiser trademark dispute is an ongoing series of legal disputes between two beer companies (from the Czech Republic and the United States) who claim trademark and geographic origin rights to the name "Budweiser". The dispute has been ongoing since 1907, and has involved more than 100 court cases around the world. As a result, Budweiser Budvar has the rights to the name Budweiser in most of Europe and Anheuser-Busch InBev has this right in North America. Consequently, AB InBev uses the name "Bud" in most of Europe and Budvar sells its beer in North America under the name "Czechvar". In other territories, one or the other or even both may use the name, depending on local trademark law.

Contents

Background

Beer brewing in the city of České Budějovice (German : Budweis), which was then in the Kingdom of Bohemia and is now in the Czech Republic, dates back to the 13th century, [1] when the city was granted brewing rights during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia. During the time when both Czech and German were official languages in the kingdom, two breweries were founded in the city. Both breweries made beer which they called "Budweiser", similar to how brewers in the city of Pilsen made a beer generically called Pilsner. [2] The beer from Budweis began being exported to the United States in 1872–73 and then again beginning in 1933. [3] In 1876, the American brewer Anheuser-Busch began making a beer which they also called "Budweiser", motivated in part by a desire to "brew a beer similar in quality, color, flavor and taste to the beer then made at Budweis", according to Adolphus Busch. [4]

Parties

Two breweries currently claim rights to the word "Budweiser":

In addition, Budweiser Bier Bürgerbräu (Czech : Budějovický měšťanský pivovar) was founded in 1795 by German-speaking citizens of Budweis, [3] and began exporting beer under the "Budweiser Bier" name to the United States in 1875. The company was expropriated by the state in 1945, and abandoned use of the Budweiser name at that time. [6] However, after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, the government restored the company's rights in Czechoslovakia. [6] The parent company of Budweiser Bier Bürgerbräu, Samson, was acquired by AB InBev in 2014, in part to help support AB InBev's claim to the Budweiser mark. [7]

Anheuser-Busch cites prior registration of the trademark in the United States, and more recently its ownership of Budweiser Bier Bürgerbräu, when making a claim to the mark. Anheuser-Busch has also pointed to advertising campaigns where those predated any formal registration by either party, such as an extensive campaign in the 1930s in Italy that predated Budvar's 1940 registrations. [8] The Budweis-based companies have argued in turn that Budweiser is generic, or is a protected geographical indication that refers to beer made specifically in the city of Budweis. Where possible, Budvar's claims are supported by proof of prior use (as in Germany). [9]

Contracts between Anheuser-Busch and the two Czech breweries in 1911 and 1939 have also factored into some of the cases. These contracts allegedly gave Anheuser the right to use Budweiser as a "trade name or trade mark" while giving the European companies the right to use Budweiser "as descriptive of geographical origin". [8]

In the European Union, the cases have led to several court rulings about the nature and scope of protected geographical indications (also known as "appellations of origin"). In Italy, courts found that an appellation could be valid even if the place to which the case referred no longer exists (in this case, the city of Budweis, now Budějovice), which gave Budvar's brand protection in Italy. [10] In a case originating in Austria, the European Court of Justice ruled that simple indications (in this case "Bud") could not be prohibited if a more specific appellation was protected, therefore allowing AB InBev to sell "Bud" in Austria, but not "Budweiser". [11]

History of the dispute

In 1907, American and Bohemian brewers made an agreement that Anheuser-Busch could market its beer as Budweiser only in North America, while the Bohemian brewers had the rights to the European markets. [12] Since then, litigation has been extensive: according to the Budvar website, as of 2012 there were "about 40 trademark dispute cases pending in different jurisdictions and some 70 procedural issues up for consideration around the world". [13]

As of January 2013, Budvar claimed to have won 89 of 124 cases against AB InBev, with an additional eight ending in a draw or settlement. [14]

In the European Union (EU), Budějovický Budvar is recognized as a product with Protected Geographical Indication. However, the trademark rights to the name Budweiser for some products other than beer are owned by Anheuser-Busch. [15]

In early 2007, Anheuser-Busch and Budvar reached an agreement that stated that Anheuser-Busch would market Budvar/Czechvar in the United States and several other countries for an undisclosed fee. However, both sides stated that this did not affect their lawsuits. The partnership with AB InBev was terminated in January 2012, and in July of that year, United States Beverage began responsibility for the sales and marketing of Czechvar in the United States. [16]

In March 2009, Anheuser-Busch lost an appeal against the EU's Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) decision to reject the registration of Budweiser as an EU-wide trademark for beer for Anheuser-Busch. The court pointed out that Budějovický Budvar had proven that it had been using the trade mark during at least the five years preceding the publication of Anheuser-Busch's application for a Community trade mark. The decision also covers malted non-alcoholic beverages (such as non-alcoholic beer). [17]

Some recent cases include:

Alternative brands

Where AB InBev has lost cases, it markets its product as "Bud" (as in Italy) [23] or as "Anheuser-Busch B" (in Germany). [24] In 2013, AB InBev was granted an EU-wide Community Trade Mark for the use of "Bud", after winning a related court case against Budvar. [25]

Where Budvar does not have rights, such as the United States, Canada, and Brazil, it uses the brand name Czechvar. [26] In 2007, AB InBev signed a deal with Budvar to sell Budvar Budweiser under the name Czechvar in the United States. [27] The partnership was terminated in January 2012, [28] and in July of that year, United States Beverage began responsibility for the sales and marketing of Czechvar in the United States. [29]

Images

See also

Related Research Articles

Budweiser is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filtered beer, available on draft and in bottles and cans, made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labatt Brewing Company</span> Belgian-owned brewery in Canada

Labatt Brewing Company Limited is a Belgian-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">České Budějovice</span> City in Czech Republic

České Budějovice is a city in South Bohemia, Czech Republic. It has about 96,000 inhabitants and is in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Breweries</span> Brewing company based in Johannesburg, South Africa

South African Breweries is a major brewery headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa and was a wholly owned subsidiary of SABMiller until its interests were sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev on 10 October 2016. South African Breweries is now a direct subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grolsch Brewery</span> Dutch brewery

Grolsch Brewery , known simply as Grolsch, is a Dutch brewery founded in 1615 by Willem Neerfeldt in Groenlo. In 1895 the de Groen family bought the brewery. They had started their own brewery in Enschede the Netherlands in the early 19th century. It held a significant stake until November 2007. Today the main brewery is located in Enschede.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SABMiller</span> Multinational brewing and beverage company

SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by AB InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world's second-largest brewer measured by revenues and was also a major bottler of Coca-Cola. Its brands included Foster's, Miller, and Pilsner Urquell. It operated in 80 countries worldwide and in 2009 sold around 21 billion litres of beverages. Since 10 October 2016, SABMiller is a business division of AB InBev, a Belgian multinational corporation with headquarters in Leuven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass Brewery</span> British Brewery founded 1777

Bass Brewery was founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the highest-selling beer in the UK. By 1877, Bass had become the largest brewery in the world, with an annual output of one million barrels. Its pale ale was exported throughout the British Empire, and the company's iconic red triangle became the UK's first registered trade mark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Brewery</span>

Castle Brewery is one of the oldest commercial breweries in South Africa. As company-endorsed legend would have it, the company was founded by Charles Glass in Johannesburg in 1894. UCT history professor Anne Kelk Mager has argued that the official SAB story overemphasized the role of Charles and that it was his wife Lisa Glass who was primarily responsible for the creation of Castle. It later merged with other breweries to form South African Breweries, which still later merged with Miller of the United States to form SABMiller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grupo Modelo</span> Large Mexican brewery

Grupo Modelo is a large brewery in Mexico that exports beer to most countries of the world. Its export brands include Corona, Modelo, and Pacífico. Grupo Modelo also brews brands that are intended solely for the domestic Mexican market and has exclusive rights in Mexico for the import and distribution of beer produced by Anheuser-Busch. Until the 1960s, Grupo Modelo used red poppy flowers in most of its advertising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer in the Czech Republic</span>

Beer has a long history in what is now the Czech Republic, with brewing taking place in Břevnov Monastery in 993. The city of Brno had the right to brew beer from the 12th century while Plzeň and České Budějovice, had breweries in the 13th century.

Plzeňský Prazdroj, a. s., known in English as the Pilsner Urquell Brewery, is a Czech brewery opened in 1842 and headquartered in Plzeň, Czech Republic. It was the first brewery to produce pale lager, branded as Pilsner Urquell, which became so popular and was so much copied that more than two-thirds of the beer produced in the world today is pale lager, sometimes named pils, pilsner and pilsener after Pilsner Urquell. The brewery name, Pilsner Urquell, which can be roughly translated into English as "the original source at Pilsen", was adopted as a trademark in 1898. Pilsner Urquell is the largest producer and exporter of beer in the Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental Brewery</span> South Korean brewery

Oriental Brewery or OB is a South Korean brewery currently owned by AB InBev, and initially founded by Doosan Group.

SABMiller was one of the top five global brewing companies, and had a range of over 150 beers, including international beers such as Pilsner Urquell, and Miller Genuine Draft, and local ones such as Gambrinus and Castle Milk Stout.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is the largest beer company in the world. It had 200 brands prior to the merger with SABMiller on October 10, 2016. The combined ABInBev/SAB Miller entity has approximately 400 beer brands as of January 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Budweiser Bier Bürgerbräu</span> Brewery in České Budějovice known also as Samson, one of its brands

Pivovar Samson a.s., formerly known as Bürgerliches Brauhaus Budweis is a brewery founded by mostly German-speaking burghers of the city of České Budějovice in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire in 1795. Its beer was known as Budweiser Bier or Budweiser Bürgerbräu since 1802 and as trademark officially since 1899. In 1894, the official company name was "Die Budweiser Bräuberechtigten - Bürgerliches Bräuhaus-Gegründet 1795 - Budweis".

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is a Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium and is the largest brewer in the world. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters in São Paulo, London, St. Louis, Mexico City, Bremen, Johannesburg, and others. It has approximately 630 beer brands in 150 countries.

InBev was a brewing company that resulted from the merger between Belgium-based company Interbrew and Brazilian brewer AmBev which took place in 2004. It existed independently until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, which formed Anheuser-Busch InBev. InBev had operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 130 countries. In 2006, it had a market capitalization of €30.6 billion and net profit of €3.2 billion on sales of €13.3 billion.

Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 Harper, Timothy; Oliver, Garrett (1997). The Good Beer Book, p.68. New York: Berkley. ISBN   0-425-15614-1.
  2. "Patent Dispute Could Put Czech Brewer in A-B InBev's M&A Crosshairs". WSJ Blogs - Deal Journal. 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
  3. 1 2 "Budějovičtí právovárečníci – Měšťanský pivovar České Budějovice, založen 1795". Encyklopedie Českých Budějovic.
  4. 1 2 3 Cunningham, Benjamin (27 January 2014). "Where a Budweiser Isn't Allowed to Be a Budweiser". Time . Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  5. Ogle, Maureen (2007-10-08). Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 109. ISBN   978-0547536910.
  6. 1 2 Kenety, Brian (22 August 2005). "Centuries-old 'Budweiser Bier' heading for St Louis to take on American giant". Radio Prague . Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  7. Rousek, Leos (2 July 2014). "InBev Buys Brewery Where Budweiser Name Began". The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  8. 1 2 Heath, Christopher; Sanders, Anselm Kamperman (2011-01-01). "Chapter 10: The Budweiser Cases: A Brewing Conflict". Landmark Intellectual Property Cases and Their Legacy: IEEM International Intellectual Property Conferences. Kluwer Law International. ISBN   9789041133434.
  9. 1 2 Aaron O. Patrick (26 March 2009). "Czech Brewer Wins Suit Over Budweiser Naming Rights". Wall Street Journal.
  10. Lazzarino, Paolo (30 September 2013). "Italian Supreme Court: is Budweiser an appellation of origin?". Lexology. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  11. Hauer, Christian (10 September 2012). "The Austrian "Budweiser" dispute: protecting appellations of origin under Regulation (EC) 510/2006". Lexology. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  12. Duprey, Rich (3 July 2014). "Anheuser-Busch InBev Stakes Claim to Budweiser Name". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  13. "The Trademark". Budweiser Budvar. Archived from the original on 2013-02-18.
  14. Petr, Miroslav (15 January 2013). "Lordi potvrdili práva Budvaru v Británii. Americký rival s požadavky neuspěl". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Prague. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  15. "EU Court Upholds Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser Trademarks". Deutsche Welle. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  16. "United States Beverage Named New U.S. Importer for Czechvar Beer". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  17. "Court of First Instance of the European Communities | Press Release No° 25/09 | Judgment of the Court in Case T-191/07 Anheuser-Busch, Inc. v OHIM | 25 March 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  18. "JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (First Chamber) 25 March 2009". InfoCuria – Case-law of the Court of Justice. Retrieved 2012-04-12. In the present case, the Board of Appeal found that the evidence which Budvar produced was clearly sufficient to prove genuine use of the earlier international word mark BUDWEISER (R 238 203). The Board of Appeal referred, in particular, to advertisements showing images of Budvar beer bearing the mark BUDWEISER, to invoices sent to customers in Germany and Austria and to the fact that those advertisements and invoices related to the relevant period.
  19. Carey, Susan; Kiviniemi, Peppi (29 July 2010). "EU Rejects Appeal for Bud Trademark". Wall Street Journal.
  20. "Případ uzavřen: Značka Budweiser v EU patří do Českých Budějovic, rozhodl soud". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Prague. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  21. "UK Supreme Court ends Budweiser trademark row". World Intellectual Property Review . Newton Media Ltd. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  22. Trade Mark decision O/504/01 Intellectual Property Office
  23. 1 2 Janicek, Karl (2013-10-08). "Budweiser Banned in Italy; Czech Budvar Wins Court Battle vs. AB InBev". DailyFinance. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
  24. "Brew-ha-ha". The Economist. 1997-09-25. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved 2015-09-05.
  25. "OHIM approves AB InBev Bud trademark". World Intellectual Property Review . Newton Media Ltd. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  26. "Contact us". Czechvar. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
  27. Story of Czechvar Beer at czechvar.com. Note that the web page avoids the words Budvar or Budweis etc. using the abbreviation B.B.N.P. (Budějovický Budvar, národní podnik) as the name of the brewery and České Budějovice as the exclusive name of the city.
  28. "Talks collapse in fight over Budweiser name". USA Today . Associated Press. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  29. "United States Beverage Named New U.S. Importer for Czechvar Beer". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-07-23.