Dutch brewery allowed to continue selling “Bavaria” beer

The Bavarian Brewers’ Federation had tried to prevent the Dutch from using the "Bavaria" label under the EU’s protected geographical indication system, which allows only food or drink producers from the territory in question to use the name.

The ECJ in Luxembourg judged that Bavarian beer was only protected by EU rules from 2001, when Bavarian beer was recognized under the PGI system. The Dutch company’s 1995 trademark therefore took priority.

Bavaria NV said in a statement they were “delighted with the ruling.”

The company used the label "Bavaria" as early as 1925 and registered the trademark in Germany in April 1995.

The Bavarian Brewers’ Federation submitted an application to the German government to get EU protection for its beers in 1993. The application was passed on to the EU in 1994, and Bavarian beer was finally registered by the European Commission in 2001.

The brewers association went to a higher regional court in Munich, asking that Bavaria NV renounce their 1995 trademark. The Dutch company appealed to the German Federal Court of Justice, which referred the decision to the European Union’s highest court in 2008, where a final verdict was only passed last month.

Bavaria Brewery is an independent family business and managed by the seventh generation of the Swinkels family. Apart from beer, Bavaria also produces soft drinks. It employs a total of about 1000 people in the Netherlands and abroad. Bavaria is available in 130 countries. Out of the 6.5 million hl of beer produced by Bavaria annually, almost 70 percent is destined for the foreign market, Bavaria reported.

No wonder the ECJ’s ruling in Bavaria’s favour had been highly welcome by the Dutch.