The US brewer, Anheuser-Busch, has responded to a recent ruling in the Tokyo High Court which allows the Czech brewer, Budejovicky Budvar, to continue using Budejovicky Budvar as a trademark and Budweiser Budvar, National Corporation, as a trade name.
“We continue to believe that Budvar’s actions violate our rights, and we are considering our legal options at this time,” said Stephen Burrows, CEO and president of Anheuser-Busch International Inc.. “The Tokyo High Court did recognise that our Budweiser trademark is, and has been for years, a well-known and famous trademark. Anheuser-Busch has undisputed rights to the Budweiser brand name in most of the world and sells its beer in more than 80 countries.”
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Anheuser-Busch said it has exclusive rights to the Budweiser trademark in Japan, and these rights had remained unchallenged. In addition, Anheuser-Busch has held the exclusive rights to the Budweiser mark in Japan since it registered the trademark there in 1951. The ruling by the Tokyo High Court had had no effect on Anheuser-Busch’s ability to continue selling Budweiser in Japan, the company said.
An earlier Tokyo District Court had upheld Anheuser-Busch’s rights to use and protect the Budweiser trademark and stopped two distributors from using the “Budweiser Budvar” trademark.
