A Community Trade Mark (CTM) is one which gives its proprietor a uniform right applicable in all member sates of the EU.
For the Czech brewer Budweiser Budvar the decision has been hailed as a strategic victory. This is because had AB InBev succeeded in registering Budweiser as a CTM it would have resulted in some European countries in a parallel use of the AB InBev Budweiser trademark with the Budweiser Budvar trademark, similar to the situation that exists in the UK.
According to Budweiser Budvar, “between 2000 and 2009, 115 legal disputes and administrative procedures were resolved – 82 in favour of Budvar. Presently there are 22 disputes in 14 countries that remain unresolved, and where they are outside the EU this latest court decision will have no impact on them.”
