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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
The Joy of True Human Connection
2
Raising Happy Children
2
Beware of the Higher Risks of Slips and Falls
3
Case Takes 57 Years to Litigate
3
Slow Cooker Cheesy Garlic Brussels Sprouts
4
Highlighting the Budweiser Trademark War
A CENTURY-LONG DISPUTE OVER BEER The Battle for Budweiser
the Budweiser Bohemian process,” Busch said in court. “The idea was simply to brew a beer similar in quality, color, flavor, and taste to the beer then made at Budweis or Bohemia.” This strengthened Budvar’s claims and was brought up in many subsequent battles. Budvar has the right to the name Budweiser in most of Europe, while AB InBev has this right in North America. AB InBev uses the name Bud in most of Europe, and Budvar sells its beer in North America under Czechvar .
Some trademark battles take years or even decades, and Budweiser was in a trademark dispute for nearly a century! Anheuser-Busch, the largest and oldest brewery site in St. Louis, began in 1852. It wasn’t until after the 1870s that Adolphus Busch and his friend, Carl Conrad — a liquor importer — toured Europe to explore different European brewing methods. Typically, brewers in European countries name a beer after their town with the suffix “-er.” Busch and Conrad visited a city called Budweis in the Czech Republic, hence the name “Budweiser,” meaning “of Budweis.” In 1876, Busch introduced Budweiser to the U.S. and became a national beer brand due to the company’s early ability to refrigerate and transport bottled beer.
Budweiser was trademarked with the U.S. Patent Office in 1878, and in 1895, Budweiser Budvar Brewery was founded by the citizens of the Czech Republic. Thus, began the trademark dispute! When Budweiser Budvar heard that a company in the U.S. had successfully registered Budweiser as a trademark, they argued that it should not have been allowed since they had been brewing beer for over 500 years. King Otakar of Bohemia granted independent brewers in Budweis the right to produce beer as early as 1265. Therefore, it had a claim to the Budweiser name. When Budvar took Anheuser-Busch (AB InBev) to court in 1896, Busch’s words were used against him: “The Budweiser beer is brewed according to
Between 2010-2011, Budvar won exclusive rights in 68 European
countries, which prevented AB InBev from selling the Budweiser brand in key markets. The two companies discussed a trademark agreement, but Budvar rejected the offer for a global settlement. While Budweiser is sold in many European countries, it may be a while before it can position itself as the best beer in Europe. Until then, you won’t hear the last of the battle of Budweiser!
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