A decision by a Swedish court has handed both victory and defeat to the breweries fighting over the rights to the Budweiser name, with Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar saying it will appeal.

US rival Anheuser-Busch was seeking to prevent the Czech company from using the names Budweiser, Budweis, Budvar and Budbräu.

In a mixed ruling two weeks ago, the District Court in Stockholm stopped Budejovicky from using the names Budweiser or Budweis for beer in Sweden – but said the Czech company could continue to use the names Budvar and Budbräu.

The court also ordered Budejovicky to pay Anheuser-Busch almost $100,000 in damages and legal fees.

Budejovicky's director Jir¡í Boc¡ek said: "Part of the ruling, which was in our favour, directly supports our business because in Sweden we sell beer under the Budejovicky Budvar label. We regard the other part, in which the court did not rule in our favour, as an erroneous decision and we have decided to appeal. We will also appeal against the size of the fee, which represents 50% of overall court costs."

But Anheuser-Busch argued that the Czech brewer is attempting to trade on the success of the Budweiser brand.

"This decision affirms our right to the Budweiser name, as many other courts have agreed, and acknowledges that Budejovicky Budvar has no right to the Budweiser name in Sweden," said Stephen Burrows, Anheuser-Busch chief executive officer and president.

Added Burrows: "We're pleased with the decision because Anheuser-Busch is the brewer that built the Budweiser trade mark around the world and began using the Budweiser trade mark in 1876, 19 years before Budejovicky Budvar was established and nearly 60 years before the Czech brewer registered the Budweiser trade mark in any form."

Budejovicky Budvar's predecessor, the Czech Joint-stock Brewery, was founded in 1895. The company asserts that the term Budweiser is derived from its place of origin, the town of Budweis, and that from the beginning the brewer used various slogans including the word Budweiser on its products.

Protection for the terms Budweiser Bier and Budweiser Budvar was obtained in countries that signed the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration.

The Swedish case is the latest legal skirmish between the brewers, who have faced each other in court with mixed results since 1911.

Anheuser-Busch has claimed the rights to Budweiser in Australia, Argentina, Denmark, Finland, Italy, New Zealand and Spain, while Budejovicky has been successful in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Greece, Finland, the Baltic Republics, South Korea and Japan.

In the US and Canada, Budejovicky sells beer under the trade mark Czechvar.

The Czech brewer is involved in almost 40 court cases with its US rival, as well as more than 40 administrative proceedings before patent offices.

The trade mark community is divided over geographical indications, an area that is considered very problematic because there is no unified approach to protection. Different countries have adopted different approaches, and even within countries there are variations between products.

Measures include protected appellations of origin, registered geographical indications, certification trade marks, passing off, and unfair competition.

Geographical indications is one of the IP issues left unresolved in the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, and is thus part of the Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs) built-in agenda. It was also mentioned in the Doha declaration, along with the issue of access to drugs.

The World Intellectual Property Organization is trying to address these issues from an IP perspective rather than a trade perspective, as well as contributing to discussions by clarifying certain concepts that relate to the definition and protection of geographical indications, thereby creating better mutual understanding.

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