Budweiser battle continues as AB InBev buys Czech brewer

Brussels: A century-long battle over the use of the Budweiser trademark took a new twist on Thursday with the purchase of a small Czech brewer by AB InBev, the global beer giant.

AB InBev, the world`s biggest brewer by volume, said it had acquired Pivovar Samson, a Czech brewery based in the Bohemian town of Ceske Budejovice, known in German as Budweis, cradle of Budweiser-style beer.

The purchase is the latest chapter in the long war between AB InBev, the maker of the US-brewed Budweiser beer, and the Czech state-owned brewer Budejovicky Budvar.

Both companies make claim to the use of the Budweiser trademark, one of the world`s most valuable brand names, and used by both in different markets. 

With the purchase of Budweis-based Samson, AB InBev hopes to bolster its claim in courts and jurisdictions across the globe where the fight with Budvar has played out for roughly a hundred years.

AB InBev`s Budweiser sells mainly in the Americas and Asia, while the version made by Budvar, the Czech Republic`s fourth-biggest brewer, is sold in several European countries including the Benelux, Britain and France.

In 2013, Budvar lost a bid in a EU court to ban AB InBev from using the name worldwide, a decision the Belgium-based multinational says should end the dispute.

But this is unlikely, as Budvar has a good legal track of its own, having won 88 of 124 disputes closed worldwide between 2000-2011, according to the Czech News Agency.

A spokesman for AB InBev said the acquisition of Samson "further strengthens AB InBev`s legal position, particularly as it relates to the Budweiser brand."

But a spokesman for Budvar replied that the transaction had "no effect" on the dispute. 

"The brewery they have bought now didn`t have a single trademark referring to Budweiser, nothing that could affect the relationship to us or the legal dispute," said Budvar spokesman Petr Samec.

AB InBev said that Samson, which has traditionally focused only on the domestic market, would be integrated in its stable of European brands.