Budvar loses right to Bud name in Tajikistan

Modern Brewery Age, Sept 8, 2003

Old East Bloc ties were not enough to prevent the Tajikistan Patent and Trademark Office from throwing out Budejovicky Budvar's appellation of origin claims recently.

Anheuser-Busch reported it has successfully defeated Budejovicky Budvar's effort to assert rights to the name "Bud" as an appellation of origin in Tajikistan.

The Tajikistan Patent and Trademark Office Board of Appeals cancelled the appellation of origin for "Bud" owned by Budvar.

"The decision by the Tajikistan Patent and Trademark Office to deny Budejovicky Budvar's appellation of origin claim is another significant win for Anheuser-Busch," said Stephen J. Burrows, president and chief executive officer, Anheuser-Busch International, Inc. "It is also a serious blow to Budejovicky Budvar's appellation of origin claims. This result may be added to Anheuser-Busch's successes in other countries of the former U.S.S.R. where Budvar's attempts to secure rights in 'Bud' as an appellation of origin were rejected for lack of geographic significance."

Anheuser-Busch has stopped Budvar from using Budweiser in Argentina, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Nigeria, New Zealand, Spain and Sweden. Legal battles continued in countries around the world.

Burrows said "Anheuser-Busch has demonstrated once again its readiness to fight any infringement of Budweiser and Bud, the trademarks that Anheuser-Busch has made into world-famous icons."