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IP matters associated with InBev takeover of Anheuser-Busch

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

from the WSJ: Czech state-owned brewery Budejovicky Budvar has Bud and Budweiser brand trademarks and appellations of origin registered in 28 European and 37 non-European countries. Anheuser sells Budweiser in 16 countries and the Bud brand in 15. Anheuser and Budvar have fought for solo control of the Budweiser brand and its various mutations for a century, though more so in the past decade as Budvar?s exports have increased. One way for InBev to solve the problem would be to buy Budvar, which produced 1.25 million hectoliters in 2007.

Trademark folks should note the following: Budvar was founded in 1895 in the Czech city Ceske Budejovice?called Budweis by the German-speaking people living among the Czechs at the time. Beer has been brewed there since 1265 and for most of that time was largely referred to generically as Budweiser, just as beer from the Czech city Pilsen has been called Pilsner.

Hmmm, Roquefort and champaign...

Full post as published by IPBiz on July 17, 2008 (boomark / email).