EUROPE: Budvar/Anheuser both claim courtroom victories
The ongoing legal dispute between Anheuser-Busch and Czech brewer Budejovicky over the rights to the trademark "Bud" heated up in more courtroom drama last week - with both parties claiming victory. Firstly, Bulgaria's Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Czech brewer. This allowed the company to become the exclusive trade representative of Budweiser in Bulgaria after Anheuser-Busch filed a claim with the country's patent office. A Bulgarian city court also rejected Anheuser's claim back in 2000.