Budweiser Budvar has definitely defended the “BUDWEISER” trademark in the United Kingdom

In its latest verdict the British Supreme Court refused the appeal as inadmissible, therefore there are no more ways to reverse the result of the dispute, making the case completely finalised. Furthermore, the British Supreme Court ordered ABI to reimburse Budweiser Budvar all the costs accruing therefrom.

“This application was ABI’s extra attempt to reverse the results of the key dispute over the ‘Budweiser’ trademark, which was in accordance with the British law definitely finalised in favour of Budweiser Budvar by the verdict of the British Court of Appeal last July,” says Budweiser Budvar’s lawyer Helena Lejtnarová. In this dispute ABI asked the registry to have Budvar's trademark No. 1,389680 “BUDWEISER“ owned by Budweiser Budvar declared invalid. More details on this dispute can be found in Budweiser Budvar’s press release of 4th July 2012.  

“The attempt to change the court’s final verdict manifests the long-term intensive interest of ABI to obtain the exclusivity to the Budweiser trademark at any cost, in the United Kingdom as well as globally,” adds Budweiser Budvar’s CEO Jiří Boček. In 1984, the British Court agreed with the concomitant use of the trademark, subsequently even allowing both companies to register the "Budweiser" trademark in 2000. ABI representatives have mentioned this “British” model several times as an option, which could possibly be applied in other territories as well. “This dispute in practise unambiguously showed the real strategic objectives of our competitor. The coexistence of the trademarks in any country must be considered a serious and everlasting threat for our intellectual property and thus for our survival in the long term as well,” adds Jiří Boček.

Global disputes over the “BUDWEISER“ trademark have lasted since 1907, therefore for more than 100 years. Particularly in the last years Budweiser Budvar has been very successful in them. During the years of 2000 – 2011, 124 court cases and administrative procedures were finalised, with Budweiser Budvar winning 88 of them, while 8 disputes ended up in a draw or conciliation.