Bush and US don't mix

BUSH AND US DON’T MIX
BRUSSELS
In the aftermath of the international politics of America’s global power it seems that Kerry is not the only one having a hangover regarding the name Bush. Small scale Belgian beer producer Dubuisson (formed in 1769) has been constrained from further use of the name “Bush” for their flagship, a 12% strong and internationally lauded beer, in a clash with global beer giant Anheuser-Busch. The latter claimed that the trade name of the Wallonian beer poses a marketing threat for their own “Busch” name.
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The British trade journal "What's brewing" already put the conflict on the front page of their July issue. In a very critical tone the magazine says that “American rice-beer brewer and international bully-boy Anheuser-Busch has found a new victim in its campaign of courtroom intimidation. This time the multinational giant, famed for its relentless and largely fruitless challenge to Budweiser Budvar trademark rights, has turned its guns on the tiny Belgian Dubuisson brewery”.
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In previous years it was the famous Budejovicky Budvar brewery in the Czech Republic that was legally harassed by A-B’s lawyers over the use of the names “Budweiser-Budvar” and “Budejovicky Budvar”. It was a logical consequence of the very aggressive way in which A-B is trying to broaden their international market. The dispute is still under the attention of the European Commission, which already fined A-B in 1999 for supplying incorrect information during the Commission’s investigation of the case.
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After claiming that consumers could also be confused between A-B’s “Busch” company name and Dubuisson’s “Bush” brand name, A-B initiated a next step in their European expansion. As a result of legal action, the International Court of Arbitration in Paris ruled earlier this year that the Dubuisson Frères, as of the 1st of July, could no longer use the “Bush” trade name – which they hold for over 70 years – except in 7 European countries where Dubuisson had protected the “Bush” name, namely Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland and Portugal.
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This measure appears to many as surprising and unnecessary. The Belgian brewery, which only produces some 18.000 hectolitres a year (of which about 3.600 are intended for export) whereas A-B annually produces 152.000.000 hectolitres, is no realistic economic rival of A-B. Roger Protz, Britain’s leading beer writer says that “A-B spills more beer that Dubuisson makes”. Furthermore, the small family brewery already used a different trade name (“Scaldis”) in the US, years before the July verdict, to avoid a possible conflict. But now it is forced to use this name for example in the UK as well. It will also mean extra marketing costs for the company.
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Dubuisson has been selling Bush branded beers since 1933. In an attempt to enter the British market after British soldiers got to know the beer in the war years, the company then decided to use the English name “Bush”, as a rough translation of the French family name ‘Dubuisson’.
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While others now speak of A-B’s bullying practises, the brewery itself speaks about the legal battle against A-B as “David against Goliath”. According to Marx Lamay of Dubuisson, Anheuser misused a new European guideline to force their will on the local market. Given however that both the “Bush” and the “Busch” names derive from family names, the rights are far from clear. It seems to withhold Dubuisson from pursuing the case further.
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The beer conflict between US and Belgian companies has previously taken another shape. In march this year A-B was surpassed as the #1 beer group in the world when Brazilian Ambev and Belgian Interbrew joined to be the worlds largest beer producer Interbev. Belgium has a strong history as a beer nation. The “Bush”-beer can be considered as part of the beer aristocracy. Not only is it the strongest Belgian beer, Dubuisson is also the oldest Wallonian family-owned brewery still in operation. More than a real economic strength this time it seems to be a symbolic status that is at the center of the struggle.
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Terry Lock, Chairman of EBCU (European Beer Consumers Union) said in response to the decision of the court that A-B’s actions are both “unreasonable and unnecessary“. This he said in a press release on 31st of July, at the beginning of the Great British Beer Festival. He continues that “it is very unlikely that consumers are confused between Dubuisson beers and mass-marketed A-B brands”. Not only is there an essential difference in the kinds of beer they are, but also in the uses of the name.
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Terry Lock comments, "I don't think there is any confusion. Few drinkers in the UK know of the “Anheuser-Busch” name, in the same way as they are unaware of company names like Interbrew or Coors. No one could reasonably argue that British drinkers are confused between Budweiser and Bush beers. They are quite simply worlds apart."
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Aside from the fact that legally things seem irreversible and Dubuisson is respecting the court’s decision, symbolic international protest is rising. Already a number of people protested directly to A-B; different websites announced petitions and asked their readers to boycott A-B products. The EBCU consumer group also launched their own campaign among British beer drinkers during the beer festival at London Olympia. 45000 visitors were asked to support a petition, which was presented to the European Union in September.

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)