AB-InBev wins EU trademark for “Bud”

That’s settled, then. AB-InBev was granted trademark rights throughout the European Union for the word “Bud” on 14 June 2013. The trademark registration follows AB-InBev’s victory earlier this year in its long-running trademark clash over the Bud name with Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar.

In January, the Luxembourg-based General Court of the European Union rejected an appeal by Budvar in a suit challenging AB-InBev’s use of the Bud trademark.

As Budvar didn’t appeal the January court decision, the Bud trademark registration process went ahead.

Frank Hellwig, global legal counsel for AB-InBev, was quoted as saying: “While we have national rights for Bud and Budweiser in many European Union member states, it fills in the remaining gaps that we had. We now have more countries covered by Bud or Budweiser trademark registrations than we have had at any point in time in the 137-year history of the brand.”