Hey CerBer
I`ve only driven through your country on the way to Riga on business, let me tell you , ANY european brew makes the stuff over here look and taste like p*ss.
Here`s some history on the Budweiser name:
Anheuser-Busch started using the Budweiser brand in 1876 and registered it two years later—more than 19 years before Budejovicky Budvar (brewer of Budvar) was established in 1895. It was not until the 1960s that Budvar started using “Budweiser” prominently on its label – long after A-B built Budweiser into an internationally recognized name for beer.
The Czech company contends that its history, and thus its claim to the Budweiser name, goes back even further. They say that King Otakar II of Bohemia granted independent brewers in the city of Budweis the right to produce beer as early as 1265. They did so in a style that became known as "Budweiser," much as beers brewed in the fashion of another Czech city, Plzeň (German: Pilsen), are referred to as "Pilsner", the company says.
Since both Budějovický Budvar and Anheuser-Busch have trademarks for the name "Budweiser", they have been party to many lawsuits in a number of countries.
Because of trademark disputes between Budejovicky Budvar and Anheuser-Busch, Budvar is sold in the United States under the label "Czechvar". In other countries, both companies still compete for the right to use the Budweiser name. There are over 40 lawsuits currently being argued and appealed in countries around the world.
In 2002, Budweiser Budvar set up a subsidiary company in the UK, Budweiser Budvar UK Limited and named John Harley as its CEO. Harley oversaw a dramatic rise in sales for Budweiser Budvar in the UK where the brand gained far wider distribution.
In early 2007, Anheuser-Busch and Budvar reached an agreement that stated that A-B would market Budvar/Czechvar in the United States and several other countries for an undisclosed fee. However, both sides stated that this did not affect their lawsuits.
