INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY : BITBURGER LOSES TO ANHEUSER BUSCH IN BUD' TRADE MARK TUSSLE.

• Position: Bitburger Brauerei Thomas Simon GmbH vs. Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc - Brief article

German brewery Bitburger has lost a case it took against US beer-maker Anheuser-Busch over the latter's use of the word Bud' as a trade mark. Bitburger said the Bud' trade mark was too similar to its own existing trade marks Bit' and Bitte ein Bit,' and should never have been granted trade mark status. But in its 19 October ruling, the EU Court of First Instance (CFI) said the Bud' trademark was not similar enough to strike down its trade mark approval (Cases T-350/04 and T-352/04).

The CFI bore three criteria in mind when coming to its judgement: the aural, visual and conceptual similarity of the competing trade marks. It found that aurally an average German could distinguish between the bud' and...