Czech brewer Budweiser Budvar has announced two victories in its ongoing battle with Anheuser-Busch over who has the right to the Budweiser brand name.
Budvar announced last week that the Portuguese Patent Authority had upheld an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court supporting its claim to the sole rights to the Budweiser name in Portugal.
A-B had attempted to register the terms 'Budweiser' and 'Budweiser King of Beers' as trademarks.
In 2000, the Portuguese Supreme Court acknowledged the historical rights of the Czech group to the Budweiser Budvar trademark based on the place of origin of the same name (Budweis, the German name for Ceske Budejovice where the beer is made) and rejected the application for registration of Anheuser-Busch trademarks.
In its decision, it also respected the bilateral treaty between the Czech Republic and Portugal on mutual protection of names of place and origin, which also include the term 'Budweiser Bier'.
Meanwhile, a Lithuanian court has also ruled in favour of the Czech company, rejecting in full Anheuser-Busch's attempt to overturn a previous decision by that country's Patent Authority whereby it refused to register the Budweiser trademarks of Anheuser-Busch.
The Lithuanian court justified its decision by the fact that Budvar had previously registered the same and similar trademarks and ruled as irrelevant the assertion that the Budweiser mark is used widely by Anheuser-Busch on other territories.
"We are pleased that European courts have confirmed our historical right of title to the Budweiser trademark, which is tied to the originating place of our beer, Ceske Budejovice, or Budweis," commented Jiri Bocek, director of Budweiser Budvar.
Bocek added: "We are also pleased that many courts recognise our beer, Budweiser Budvar, as the continuation of more than 700 years' worth of tradition of the original beer from Ceske Budejovice - Budweiser Bier - the recipe and name of which certain American breweries attempted to use, in a modified form only, in the late 19th century."
Budweiser Budvar has registered over 380 trademarks in more than 100 countries of the world. It is currently involved in more than 40 court cases and 40 other patent-related proceedings pitching it against Anheuser-Busch.
While the Czech group has played the geographical card in its defence of the Budweiser name, Anheuser-Busch has mainly opted for the historical route, highlighting the fact that it was the first company to register the Budweiser trademark world wide and accusing the Czech company of attempting to benefit from its successful efforts to build up the brand.
The American company also registered a victory recently, with the courts in Spain ruling that Budvar must stop selling its beer there under the Budweiser name - entirely the opposite decision to that taken in neighbouring Portugal.