Anheuser-Busch to Fight Swiss Trademark Ban

Anheuser-Busch Cos. will contest a Swiss court ruling that prevents the U.S. brewer from using the trademark “Bud” in Switzerland for one of its most famous beers, labeled “Budweiser” in the U.S. and other countries, a lawyer for the company said. A Swiss court ruled that “Bud” is too similar to the name of a beer made by state-owned Czech brewer Budweiser/Budvar AS. Budvar and Anheuser-Busch have been fighting the trademark war in courts around Europe for decades. A beer called Budvar, Budweiser in German, has been brewed in the southern Bohemian town of Ceske Budejovice for more than 500 years. In the 19th century, Anheuser-Busch adopted the name for its own beer.