The Budweiser Cases:A Brewing Conflict

The Budweiser Cases: A Brewing Conflict
Christopher Heath

ISBN 978-90-411-3343-4
Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands

The beer-brewing tradition in the Bohemian town of Budweis/Ceske Budejovice dates back to the thirteenth century. The conflict that has been brewing between beer originating from this town and beer originating from the United States sold under the trademarks ‘Budweiser’ and ‘Bud’ since 1895 is not quite as old as that, yet dates back to the time before the First World War. Conflicts have arisen in about thirty countries and have raised a number of most interesting legal problems. But contrary to patent lawsuits worldwide that are decided on more or less the same facts, where the same patents and the same parties are concerned, the issue of the Budweiser cases is more complex.