BUDVAR TRADEMARK  

As the popularity of Czech beer grew, attempts at imitating it emerged; later, others tried to abuse internationally registered trademarks and brands based on the beer’s place of origin.

The term Budweiser is derived from the town of Budějovice, known as Budweis or Budějovice since the 14th century – 200 years before Christopher Columbus discovered America. Budweis – the official name of the town – was not “Czechified” as Česke Budějovice until 1918 (with the exception of 1939-1945, i.e. the Second World War and the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, when the name of the town reverted briefly to its German form. In some languages Budweis is still the preferred name. České Budějovice has been renowned for brewing from time immemorial (see the chapter entitled History of Beer in České Budějovice). To differentiate the town’s beer from the output of breweries in other areas, the beer was called the Budweiser Bier (i.e. “Beer from Budějovice”). Logically, the company Český akciový pivovar (Böhmisches Action-Bräuhaus in Budweis in German) decided to brand its beer by its place of origin, as it followed up on the tradition of brewing Budějovice beer in České Budějovice. The beer from Budějovice was so well known that Budweiser Bier became a synonym of quality. Ever since it started operations, the brewery used various names using the Budweiser word on its products, and it gradually started registering the brands as trademarks. After the signature of the Lisbon International Treaty (1958), it acquired the national and international registration of the terms Budějovice Beer (Budweiser Bier) and Budějovický Budvar (Budweiser Budvar) in the stateswho were parties to the Lisbon Treaty.

The valuable intellectual property of Budějovický Budvar n. p. today includes trademarks, protective marks of origin, geographical brands and brand names such as Budweiser Budvar, Budweiser, Budvar, Bud and Budějovický Budvar. This property is connected exclusively to the place of origin. The typical font is accompanied by red, white, and blue on the labels – the same colours can be seen on the Czech Republic’s national flag. Therefore, the beer is presented as a premium Czech lager at home and throughout the world.

The company’s intellectual property is being increased not only by the extension of trademark registration but also by the expansion of the registration of the geographical brand for the terms Budějovice beer, Budějovický Budvar, Bud, etc., in the countries that have enacted the registration principle in accordance with the GATT/TRIPS (19..) multilateral treaty that 150 countries have ratified to date. This treaty enables products that enjoy a long-running reputation and incorporate the direct impact of local production conditions, including human resources, to be known as products of an inimitable nature. This prevents such products – which are tied to the place of production – from being imitated and copied. In relation to the intellectual property of Budějovický Budvar n. p., which is tied to a place of origin, the consumer can rest assured that beer branded Budějovický Budvar comes exclusively from České Budějovice. Therefore, customers always get beer of the same, top quality. It is also a guarantee that the beer is only made in the Budějovický Budvar n. p. brewery in České Budějovice and not anywhere else (for instance under license).

The beer’s high quality and competitiveness on foreign markets were the main reasons why Budějovický Budvar n. p. was the first Czech company to have trademarks, under numbers 154251 (Budweiser), 159263 (Bud), and 159506 (Budweiser Budvar), certified as renowned on 23 September 1991. The brewery considers all its trademarks and geographical brands its most valuable intellectual property and takes great care of their registration and protection. The brewery currently has 380 trademarks registered in over 100 countries worldwide.