The AP reported (leaked) a story from Brussels that the WTO will publish a decision in March that will uphold the "EU system which says only foods produced in their original region can carry certain well-known labels...while clarifying that products from outside the 25-nation bloc could also apply for similar protection." US producer's hailed the decision, claiming that their trademarked product names will be globally protected, aiding Florida orange growers, Idaho potatoe and Vidalia onion growers, and, oddly, Anheuser-Busch in maintaining the integrity of the origins of their products. After all, you wouldn't want to eat a Florida orange that was not grown in Florida, would you?
Now children, there has been a rift for some time between Anheuser-Busch and Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar NP over the rights to the name, "Budweiser" and "Bud". Anheuser-Busch has been brewing "Budweiser" in the US since 1876. Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in a town called Budweis by the German-speaking people that lived in the area at the time.(1) The city is called Budweis, in German and Ceské Budejovice, in Czech. In German, the word 'Budweiser' is the adjectival form of proper noun 'Budweis', meaning 'of or from Budweis'. In Czech, the word 'Budejovicky' is the adjectival form of the propor noun 'Budejovice', meaning 'of or from Budejovice'.(2) Most of the courts in the world are siding with Anheuser-Busch, since they were using the name first, and consistent with trademark laws. However, the Czechs have been brewing this type of beer (a Pilsner, which means "from Plzen, Czechoslovakia) for over 700 years. Sure, the Czechs could change the name of their beer to St. Louisicky, meaning 'of or from St. Louis', but that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense, would it?
The EU and WTO have agreed that products with protected regional names could exist alongside previously trademark protected names. Hmm, makes sense but I'm sure there will be some resistance from trademark holders. We're talking in-ter-nation-al corporations here. You know, the ones that tell you what to wear, eat, drink, drive. OBTW, the Czech's Bud is IMHO one of the finest beers in the world, a head-spinning departure from good ole American Bud (or any other "Pilsner" rip-off brewed in the US). Perhaps this is the moral of the story (you saw this coming, didn't you), why don't we all just sit down and have ourselves an old-fashioned taste test. Maybe after a few "Buds" we can see these things a little more clearly (dare I say it... like the Europeans do?).
(1) Source, "St. Louis Business Journal", 29June04.
(2) Source, "World Patent and Trademark News (TM)", Vol 4, Issue 6.