Is Budweiser Still the King of Beers?
August 20th, 2010 by rrm407
Anheuser-Busch filed its first U.S. application for registration of their “BUDWEISER” trademark for beer in 1905 and claimed an 1876 date of first use of the mark. Since then, Anheuser-Busch has obtained scores of registrations for the “BUDWEISER” trademark in the U.S. and in many foreign countries.
However, the European Union’s High Court refused Anheuser-Busch’s application for registration in the European Union. Anheuser-Busch v. Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Marke (OHIM)t, C-214/09 P (July 2010).[1] The dispute is a continuation of a long standing legal saga between Anheuser-Busch and Budejovicky Budvar, a small brewery in the city of České Budějovice, Budweis (Budweiser means from “Budweis”), Czech Republic.[2] Budvar claims a tradition of brewing beer in Europe since at least the 13th century.
Trademark rights inure based on an owner’s use of that mark for the goods or services associated with it, in a particular geographical area or country. The owner who first uses a trademark and continues to do so, acquires rights over others who start using that mark after the owner’s first use. However, an earlier first use must be established over others in each country or geographic area in which protection is sought.
In 1996, Anheuser-Busch filed an application for registration of their “BUDWEISER” trademark in the European Union for “beer, ale, porter, malted alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages.” Obtaining trademark protection in the European Union could have afforded Anheuser-Busch a substantial competitive advantage in the Union’s 27 member countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Czech Republic.[3]
However, in 1999, based on its earlier international word mark “BUDWEISER” (Registration No. R 238 203), Budvar opposed the registration of Anheuser-Busch’s “BUDWEISER” trademark in the European Union. Budvar’s R 238 203 registration provided it protection for the “BUDWEISER” trademark in Germany, Austria, Benelux and Italy, for beer of any kind.
In deciding such a dispute, the European Union’s high Court refuses registration of a trademark in view of an earlier trademark if the marks are identical and relate to the same goods and there is a likelihood of consumers being confused as to the source of those goods. Budvar was required to (and did) submit evidence that it had actually used the BUDWEISER mark in Germany and Austria. Such evidence included: i) advertisements showing images of Budvar beer bearing the BUDWEISER mark and ii) invoices sent to customers. In addition, Budvar submit proof of renewal of its registration. After 14 years of disputing the BUDWEISER mark before the Courts, one of the main issues before the High Court was whether or not Budvar submitted proof of renewal of its registration to the OHIM in a timely manner.
After a review of the previous litigation relating to the parties dispute, the High Court held that the OHIM acted within its discretion in accepting and considering Budvar’s proof of renewal of its registration. Thus the Court upheld Budvar’s opposition and denied Anheuser-Busch’s registration in the European Union. For now, the “King of Beers” has been held back from further expanding its empire.
[1] See link for the full text of the European Union Court’s ruling http://curia.europa.eu/jurisp/cgi-bin/form.pl?lang=EN&Submit=Submit&numaff=C-214/09%20P
[2] Link to Budvar’s website, http://www.budvar.cz/#
[3] Link to a map and list of Countries in the European Union http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/index_en.htm