Czech Republic & Finland: Budejovicky Budvar has scored another victory in Europe over Anheuser-Busch
The Czech state-owned beer maker, Budejovicky Budvar, announced on January 5 it has scored another European victory on in its fight with US brewer Annheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. over trademark usage. Budejovicky Budvar said in a statement it can use its trademark in Finland after almost ten years of disputes with US rival Anheuser-Busch, according to The Prague Daily Monitor.
"In business terms, this decision is an important success for us. It will contribute to legal certainty and will lead to a further increase in our exports," Budvar chief executive Jiri Bocek said in a press release.
On December 29, 2005, the Finnish supreme court ruled in favour of Budvar on the basis of recourse filed by the Czech brewery five years ago. "Finland can become one of our ten largest export markets in the near future," Bocek added.
The decision is final and cannot be appealed. Anheuser-Busch, which uses the Budweiser and Bud trademarks in many countries, must also pay Budvar compensation for court expenses.
The dispute started in 1996, when Anheuser-Busch demanded a ban on sales of beer under the Budejovicky Budvar trademark in Finland.
Budvar has 380 trademarks registered in more than 100 countries of the world. At present, it is embroiled in more than 40 court disputes and over 70 administrative proceedings at patent offices with Anheuser-Busch.
Budvar, which exports beer to almost 60 countries on five continents, last year succeeded in disputes with Anheuser-Busch in the Benelux countries, Hungary and Cambodia.
The brewery raised sales to Finland by more than 30 percent in 2005 and started to export its dark lager to the local market. "Now we have all it takes to keep this trend in the future. The final word in the dispute opens the door to beer supplies to Finnish retail chains," said Bocek.
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