Trade mark decision

BL Number

O/504/01

Decision date

2 November 2001

Hearing officer

Mr S Thorley QC

Mark

BUDWEISER BUDBRAU

Classes

32

Applicant

Anheuser-Busch Incorporated

Opponent

Budejovicky Budvar Narodni Podnik

Opposition

Section 46

Result

Appeals referred to the High Court.

Points Of Interest

• 1. See Registry decisions BL O/071/01, BL O/178/01 and BL O/200/01.
• 2. High Court decision. See BUD and BUDWEISER BUDBRAU Trade Marks [2002] RPC 38 page 747.
• 3. Court of Appeal decision. See BUD and BUDWEISER BUDBRAU Trade Marks [2003] RPC 25 page 477.

Summary

The Appointed Person requested that the two appeals from the decisions of different Hearing Officer’s dated 13 February 2001 (BL O/071/01) and 11 April 2001 (BL O/178/01) should be dealt with together. He also noted with some concern that a further appeal involving invalidation of the BUD mark (Hearing Officer’s decision dated 26 April 2001 (BL O/200/01) had been made to the High Court.

Having considered the papers and the skeleton arguments of Counsel he considered that there was a point of general legal importance concerning the meaning of the phrase “substantially affects the identity of the trade mark” as it occurs in Section 46 and whether or not the meaning given to this term is influenced in any way by the presence of the same phrase in Section 39 which relates to amendment of a trade mark at application stage. Cases referred to the High Court with agreement of the parties.

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