The current score in the battle to label beer brands as "Budweiser", is 2-1 to Czech Brewer Budejovický Budvar, after yesterday it emerged that an Italian court ordered Belgian based Anheuser-Busch InBev to change its labeling to 'Bud' by 10 February.
Just-drinks.com reported, that in the latest legal tussle between the two companies, Budvar yesterday (18 December) claimed that A-B InBev had failed to withdraw Budweiser from the Italian marketplace after October's Supreme Court ruling allowing Budvar to start selling its flaghsip lager brand as Budweiser Budvar again in the country.
Budvar asked Milan's Commercial Court to intervene in the matter, and set a 10 february deadline for A-B InBev to switch from 'Budweiser' to 'Bud'.
“Since our business interests are being severely harmed and Italian consumers are being further deceived, we had to ask the Commercial Court in Milan for help,” Budvar's sales director Robert Chrt said.
AB InBev, the world’s biggest brewer, and Czech rival Budvar have been entangled in disputes over the use of the Budweiser brand for more than a century, as each brewer won and lost the rights in different rulings.
In two other recent rulings, Budvar claimed victory in Portugal, while A-B InBev chalked up a win in France.
© 2013 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
