Order a Budweiser in the United States, and you’ll get a beer made by Anheuser-Busch. Oddly enough, that is not true in much of the world. Order Budweiser in Germany, Japan or Viet Nam, and the brew comes from a Czech brewery called Budvar.
Both companies have claims with at least some validity, and they have been fighting in various courts around the world for exclusive rights to the name for over 100 years.
Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in the city of Ceske Budejovice — called Budweis at the time by the German-speaking people who formed about 40 percent of the area's population. Beer has been brewed there since 1265 and has been known for centuries as Budweiser.
Budvar argues that only beer that is brewed in this corner of the Czech Republic can be called Budweiser.
The founders of Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis used the name for their product because it was so well-known. The brewer, founded in 1852, began producing Budweiser, America's first national beer brand, in 1876 — 19 years before Budvar was founded.
The two companies have been in a legal battle since 1906. Today, the dispute is being waged through 61 lawsuits in 11 countries.
When the companies do not have exclusive rights to the Budweiser brand in a country, they resort to using slightly altered names. Anheuser-Busch sells its Budweiser as Bud in many European countries. Budvar sells its lager as Czechvar in the U.S. Houston’s huge liquor store Spec's has Czechvar in bottles and kegs.
Things are even more complicated in England. Both brewers were granted the right to use the name in 2000 after a British court ruled that drinkers were aware of the difference between the two beers. A British appeals court this summer rejected a request to have Budvar's trademark declared invalid.
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