The Czech brewing force Budejovicky Budvar has won a legal battle against the US brewer Anheuser-Busch in Taiwan, the company announced July 8, according to Associated Press. Budvar said in a statement that the Taiwanese high court upheld the company's rights for the Budejovicky Budvar trade name in the country. Anheuser-Busch had earlier appealed the registration of the Budvar's Budejovicky Budvar trade name in Taiwan, arguing the name is too similar to its own flagship trade name Budweiser and may be confusing to beer drinkers in the Asian country. The two companies have battled over the name Budweiser since 1906, when the Czech brewery began exporting its product to the United States. The companies are involved in more than 40 lawsuits.

Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in Ceske Budejovice -called Budweis by the German-speaking people that populated the area at the time. Beer has been brewed there since 1265. The founders of Anheuser-Busch used the name Budweiser for their product because it was well-known in their German homeland. They founded their brewery in 1876. In the markets where the famous Czech brewer is barred from using the German version name of its premium lager, it has sought to sell it under its Czech name Budvar. Since 2001, Budvar also has been exporting its lager to the Unites States under the name Czechvar.

10 July, 2003