Case C-216/01 Budejovický Budvar – Judgment of the Court of Justice of 18 November 2003

Abstract

This article looks at the ongoing dispute between the American brewer Anheuser-Busch and the Czech beer producer Budejovický Budvar over the right to use the name Budweiser or Bud on their products. Currently, both of the brewers produce a beer labelled ‘Budweiser’. The fight concerns one of the most controversial issues of intellectual property protection: the co-existence of trademarks and geographical indications. The case under review, Case C-216/01 Budejovický Budvar v. Rudolf Ammersin GmbH, Judgment of 18 November 2003, is only one episode in this ongoing dispute. This article explains why the decision of the Court of Justice does not answer the question whether co-existence of these particular classes of names or more generally of geographical indications and trademarks is possible. An overview of other international disputes in relation to the same issue is also provided in this article.