The main case pivots around the long-running dispute over the use of the name Budweiser. The Czech Republic, a newly incorporated EU member, is seeking geographic indication (GI) status for the name of its ancient and prized lager.

Most of the world knows the name Budweiser from the giant American brand owned by Anheuser-Busch, which has sold its product under that name since 1876. The US company sold 9.9 million hectoliters of lager last year, compared to the Czech group’s 1.2 million.

The United States went to the WTO in April 2003 complaining that Anheuser-Busch had lost sales because some European countries had allowed the Czech beer to be sold under the Budweiser name. The Czechs argued that they were entitled to the name, and that their beer should be protected as a GI product because it is the only one still brewed in Budweis.

Since Budweis is the German name for Ceske Budejovice, the Czech brewer would not be able to claim protection for its Budweiser brand should this ruling become official.

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