Czech brewery Bud?jovick Budvar gained yet another significant victory in its worldwide branding dispute with Anheuser-Busch.
The European Court of Justice has backed an appeal filed by Budvar and annulled earlier rulings by the EU’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) on the registration of Bud as the protective trademark for beer in the EU countries.
Anheuser-Busch in 1996 and 2000 applied for the EU registration of a number of its products bearing the trademark Bud, including beer. Budvar challenged the request, arguing that Bud was already recognised as a protected indication of geographical origin for beer coming from ?esk