Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser may be the "King of Beers" in the United States, but the Czech Republic's Budejovicky Budvar, which produces its own brand of Budweiser, wants to wrestle away the crown.
For 100 years, the Czech company and the St. Louis-based brewer have engaged in a global battle over the true owner of the rights to the Budweiser name. The Czechs brew their Bud in the town of Ceske Budejovic -- or Budweis as it's known in German -- and argue they have geographic claim to the name.
* * * *
The Budweiser battle is just one on a growing list of fights over geographic indications -- or names on food, wine and spirits that connote a specific place. Over the last few years, the European Union has stepped up efforts to get a worldwide registry of geographic indications. If the register is adopted, only foods, wines and spirits that are produced in a specific place could carry the geographic identifier.
No more Budweiser? Good thing I prefer imports and microbrews. Law.com's The Recorder has all the details here.