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the name 'Budweiser'? As remarkable as it seems, that's the case, and for more
than 100 years now, US-based Anheuser-Busch, owned by the InBev group,
and the Czech Budvar Budweiser brewery have been locked in a trademark dis-
pute to determine where each brewer can sell their beer and what they can call
it.
The dispute arose innocently enough in the 1870s, after the co-founder of the
American brewery, Adolphus Busch, returned home from a tour of Bohemia.
Busch wanted to create a light lager based on his experience abroad and
dubbed his new concoction 'Budweiser' to lend an air of authenticity. Ironically,
the American claim may actually pre-date the Czech one. Though beer has
been brewed in the town of České Budějovice for some 800 years, the Czech
'Budweiser' name was apparently only registered in the 1890s.
By the early 20th century, the two brewers, eyeing eventual overseas markets,
were already locked in battle. In 1907, they agreed that the American company
could use the Budweiser name in North America, while the Czechs could keep it
in Europe. That fragile compromise held up remarkably well for decades, though
there are signs it's now fraying around the edges.
InBev sells what many consider its inferior Budweiser brand throughout
Europe under the 'Bud' label. In some markets, including in the UK, the courts
have ruled that neither company can claim the name, allowing both to use Bud-
weiser. The American Budweiser is not sold in the Czech Republic. In the USA,
Czech Budweiser is sold under the somewhat awkward name of 'Czechvar'.
Meantime, rumours abound in the Czech Republic about the eventual privat-
isation of the state-controlled Czech brewer and its possible sale someday to the
far-larger InBev group. Such a move wouldn't shock many people, though true
beer lovers would likely shed a few tears into their beer mugs.
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