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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