Who should get "Budweiser"?

[amadeus]

I'm keeping my kidneys either way, so I really don't care.

 

[Gelion]

I second this.
I am 100% behind the Czechs on this one.

So am I

 

[mdwh]

Does anyone know what the situation is currently?

Ideally, Budejovicky Budvar should have the trademark in the Czech Republic, but Anheuser-Busch should certainly have the rights everywhere else.

Trademarks are about avoiding confusion for consumers - that is the primary issue here.

Some background is at http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/08/business/adcol09.php .

 

[Hitro]

I have a sixpack of Budweiser in my fridge, naturally it is real beer, i.e. the Czech variant. Quite a good Pilsener, it is. And as it comes from Budweis (which is the German name of the city) it makes alot of sense to call it that.

 

[Verbose]

Does anyone know what the situation is currently?

I remember reading the story not so long ago.

I (someone at least) might need to look further into it, but the way I've seen it explained is:

Down in old Bohemia, Budvar region, they have brewed this lager type beer thay call "Budweiser" (a "white one from Bud") since before America was discovered.
Strangely enough no one ever figured they'd need to copyright this local speciality in accordance with US laws.

Back in the late 19th c. some emigrant from this region started brewing and selling "Budweiser" in the US. Still no copyright problems. But then, sometime in the 30's or so, Anhauser-Busch bought up this local brewery and its "Budweiser" beer (possibly in the process subjecting the original Czech-style beer to cruel and unnatural procedures to create the "lovemaking-in-a-canoe" beverage it now peddles.)

At this point, still no copyright controversy, as everyone was busy first with WWII and later the cold war, and the Czech safely tucked away behind the Iron Curtain.

Problems only started when the Czech suddenly rejoined the Western in 1989, along with this beer they called Budweiser, which they had been breweing for like "always".

That's when Anhauser-Busch brought the Czech brewery to court.

The settlement seems to be that Anhauser-Busch has world rights to the name "Budweiser" and is allowed to market it anywhere in the world.

The Czech's are allowed to sell their beer under the albel of "Budweiser Budvar" and they are under no circumstances allowed to try to market it in the US.

So the Yanks are safely protected from the horrors of drinking real beer, compliments of the Anhauser-Busch corporation.

 

[Oerdin]

The city of České Budějovice in the Czech Republic used to be called Budweis when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Any beer from the city of Budweis was a Budweiser. The city (and the region in general) was famous for its light gold colored bubblely beer (though the style was invented in the nearby town of Pilsen thus the style is called a Pilsener) which was a novalty since nearly every other beer was dark in color. In the 19th century a man from budweis named Adolfus Busch moved to the US and began making beer he called Budweiser which was identical to the ones his family used to make back in Budweis. (The corporation's recipe has been radically altered in the last 180 years so it is no longer like the original.)

The Czech city and a brewery in České Budějovice has sued multiple times (normally the courts told them to screw off) claiming that they own the name Budweiser. That's a hard case to make since it was a well know regional style and the US company has been a well known corporation for at least 150 years. Still, they've won in a few districts and are the legal owners to the Budweiser name in those areas.

 

[Oerdin]

You can buy the Czech version in the US though it is sold under the Czechvar name. They originally tried to use the Budvar name but A-B sued them saying it violated their copy rights and people might get confused so the name was again changed this time to Czechvar.

 

[Oerdin]

So the Yanks are safely protected from the horrors of drinking real beer, compliments of the Anhauser-Busch corporation.

BTW the US typically takes some where between 50%-66% of the medals at any major international brewing competition. The US really does have the best beer in the world though though most of it is made in small breweries whose distribution is limited to a single city or county. The big corporations make crap beer but I don't know anyone other then dirt poor college students who drink it.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

I can't stand the US version anymore, but am intrigued by this Czech version. Will look it out, especially since it's a European beer

 

[Zarn]

Why do some many Europeans assume all Americans drink A-B's crud? I don't even want to be in the same room as the stuff, and I poke fun at any who drink it. Look at this thread and so how many Americans actually like the junk.

I'm keeping my kidneys either way, so I really don't care.

Kidneys are overrated.

 

[Oerdin]

It's not the only problem associated with trademarks and czech beers. For example Pilsner is commonly used to describe the type of beer, but the original producer, Pilsner Urquell sees it as a violation of its rights. They want EU to protect their trademark.

The name of that city was Pilsen when German was the official language and any beer made in Pilsen was called a Pilsener. Pilsener Urquell was the first brewer to make the Pilsener style thus they use "Urquell" (meaning "original source") in their name but every single brewery in the city made beer called Pilsener including many which weren't of the style now called Pilsener. It would be really stupid to attempt to trademark a name which has been common usage for over two centuries (I.E. the Pilsener style).

Since the name has been in common usage for a couple of centuries it is a bit late to suddenly claim sole ownership.