Portugal: Budweiser appeals sales ban in Portugal

Anheuser-Busch has appealed a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that stopped the beer maker from selling its Budweiser brand in Portugal, the court said Friday, March 3, according to The Associated Press.

The largest brewer in the United States has been battling with Czech brewery Budejovicky Budvar for the exclusive rights to the Budweiser name and others — such as Budvar — for over a century. Currently, they are involved in some 40 lawsuits worldwide.

Anheuser-Busch lodged the case with the Strasbourg court after Portugal's Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that the Czech brewery had the right to use the brand name in Portugal under a 1986 treaty between the two countries, which protects registered designations of origin.

In the first trademark dispute referred to Europe's human rights court, Anheuser-Busch argued the Portuguese decision violated its rights to the "peaceful enjoyment" of the trademark. It said the ruling infringed Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees individuals and companies protection of property.

But the human rights court ruled against Anheuser-Busch last October, saying the brewery's rights to the enjoyment of the trademark had not been breached because the company had never had the trademark registered in Portugal.

The brewery has appealed to the court's highest chamber — the so-called Grand Chamber, which consists of 17 European judges — and the case has been accepted, the court said. No date for the proceedings has been given.

Anheuser-Busch first applied to register Budweiser as a trademark in Portugal in 1981. After a protracted legal battle, during which Portuguese courts first granted the use of Budweiser to the American company then ruled in favor of the Czechs following their appeal, the case was sent to Strasbourg in June 2001.

Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in Ceske Budejovice — called Budweis by the German-speaking people that populated the area at the time. Beer has been brewed there since 1265.

The founders of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. used the name Budweiser for their product because it was well-known in their German homeland. The St. Louis brewery got its start in 1852. It began producing Budweiser, America's first national beer brand, in 1876.
Budejovicky Budvar: http://www.budvar.cz
Anheuser-Busch: http://www.anheuser-busch.com

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