Czech Brewery Can Take On ‘Bud’ Trademarks, EU High Court Rules

(CN) - The European Court of First Instance revived a Czech brewing company's opposition to Anheuser-Busch's attempt to register the "Bud" trademark in Europe. The Czech company sought to ban the use of "Bud" as an EU Community trademark, saying the term was already protected as a trademark for beer in Austria and France

Europe's highest court ruled that the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market erred in dismissing opposition papers filed by Budejovicky Budvar. .

The agency said European consumers were not likely to view "Bud" as a term for beer from the Czech city Ceske Budejovice, called "Budweis" in German.

However, the high court concluded that the office placed an overly strict burden of proof on Budejovicky Budvar and annulled the agency's decision.

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