George wrote:
> Janet wrote:
> > "Andy" <q> wrote in message ...
> >> Goodbye Budweiser!
> >>
> >> Depending on the shareholder vote, Anheiser Busch will become the
property
> >> of
> >> !Bev a Belgium company.
> >>
> >> There goes the neighborhood.
> >>
> >> I shall not be drinking Bud Light any longer.
> >>
> >> Andy
> >
> > Is there any hope that the Belgians will turn Bud into a decent beer,
> > instead of the swill it is now?
> >
> >
> Not likely. If they wanted to sell a quality beer here it would make
> little sense to buy and spend a fortune trying to rebrand a brand
> associated with mediocrity. Imagine the marketing "Bud, now its real
> beer" or maybe "Bud, its new and improved, not the low quality
> industrial beer you remember"
The point about "high quality" Bud is moot, since there is *already* a
high - quality Budweiser, it's the original Budvar, made in the Czech
Republic. It's sold in the US under the "Czechvar" label:
http://www.czechvar.com/index.html
and:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud%C4%...k%C3%BD_Budvar
"Budejovickı Budvar is a brewery in the Czech Republic that is best known
for brewing a beer known as Budweiser Budvar in European Union, Czechvar in
the United States and Canada[1], and either Budweiser Budvar or Budejovickı
Budvar in the rest of the world
History and Trademark dispute
The original Budweiser Bier or Budweiser Bürgerbräu, had been founded in
1795 in Budweis, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire and had started exports to the
US in 1871 . In the U.S., Anheuser-Busch started using the Budweiser brand
in 1876 and registered it two years later.
In Budweis, the new company (now named Budvar) was established in 1895 by
mainly Czech brewers, which also started exporting beer with the adjective
Budweiser ("Budejovickı" in Czech). This led to the Budweiser trademark
dispute. Negotiations between the three companies, the two from the original
town and the American Anheuser-Busch, about using "Budweiser" reached an
agreement in 1911 that allowed Anheuser-Busch to use the brand "Budweiser"
only in North America...
As a result of World War I, the new state of Czechoslovakia also renamed the
cities of Budweis and Pilsen, and in 1945 expelled the remaining German
speaking population. After the fall of communism, both local breweries tried
to secure rights to traditional names.
Since three companies had or have trademarks for the name "Budweiser", they
have been party to many lawsuits in a number of countries. Because of such
disputes, Budvar is sold in the United States and Canada under the label
Czechvar.
In the European Union, Budejovickı Budvar is recognized as a product with
Protected Geographical Indication. However, the trademark rights to the name
Budweiser for some products other than beer are owned by Anheuser-Busch...
In 2002, Budejovickı Budvar set up a subsidiary company in the UK, Budweiser
Budvar UK Limited, and saw 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..."
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