Anheuser-Busch officially granted BUD CTM

Czech brewer Budějovický Budvar and Anheuser-Busch had been involved in a long-running legal dispute over the rights to the BUD trademark in the European Union. In January 2013, in Budějovický Budvar, národní podnik v OHIM (Joined Cases T-225/06 RENV, T-255/06 RENV, T-257/06 RENV and T-309/06 RENV), the General Court dismissed the oppositions brought by Budějovický Budvar against Anheuser-Busch’s application for the registration of BUD as a CTM for various kinds of goods, including beer.

“This registration gives us rights to the BUD trademark valid throughout the entire European Union,” stated Frank Hellwig, global legal director at Anheuser-Busch. “While we have national rights for BUD and BUDWEISER in many European Union member states, it fills in the remaining gaps that we had. We now have more countries covered by BUD or BUDWEISER trademark registrations than we have had at any point in time in the 137-year history of the brand, giving us virtually worldwide protection for the Bud or Budweiser brands.”

Jelena Jankovic, PETOŠEVIC, Belgrade