When Anheuser-Busch and Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar last week announced a deal where A-B would distribute Budvar, called Czechvar in the U.S., they also noted this would not prejudice their ongoing legal battles over the use of the brand names Budweiser, Bud, etc. around the world.
So here’s the news:
American brewer Anheuser-Busch cannot sell beer under the brand name Budweiser in Portugal, the highest chamber of Europe’s human rights court ruled Thursday, in the latest round of a global legal battle between the U.S. beer giant and Czech brewery Budejovicky Budvar.
The U.S. brewery lost its fight against a 2001 decision by Portugal’s Supreme Court, which ruled that Budejovicky Budvar had the right to use the brand name under a 1986 treaty between the Czech Republic and Portugal.
The beat goes on.
FYI: The headline at Law.com reads: “European Court Rules Anheuser-Busch Cannot Sell ‘Budweiser’ Beer in Portugal”