Fifteen companies combined to pay several hundred million euro to be named official partners of the FIFA World Cup and receive exclusive global marketing opportunities within the designated product categories. Stadium advertising, including ads in rented VIP boxes and business lounges, is prohibited. AOL Arena in Hamburg and Allianz Arena in Munich will even get ad-free names for the tournament’s duration.

Anheuser-Busch was named one of FIFA World Cup’s official partners and therefore received exclusive rights to market beer. But German football fans caused an uproar after learning that Bitburger beer, a longtime official partner of the German Football Association, was told to step aside. Many Germans declared that a FIFA World Cup held in Germany without beer from their homeland was unbearable and unthinkable.

The storm of protest was particularly strong in Bavaria, where politicians joined the public discussion. One stated: “We have a duty of care, a caretaking obligation to not poison World Cup visitors with bad American beer.”

For Anheuser-Busch, fighting the public’s perception of its beer would be a public relations nightmare. Fighting the court system would be even worse.

Germany’s Supreme Court stated in 2001 that the public would likely be confused between the sound and typeface of “Bud” and “Bit,” the latter being Bitburger beer’s heavily advertised short-form trademark. The court ruled that Anheuser-Busch cannot use its short-form Bud brand name in Germany.

Anheuser-Busch cannot use its long-form Budweiser brand name in Germany either. Anheuser-Busch is the registered proprietor of the Budweiser trademark in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Spain; Budweiser Budvar owns the rights in most Eastern European countries, including Germany (See: Mark Jarvis’ “Which Bud’s for you?” article on brandchannel.com). In fact, Anheuser-Busch and Czech brewery Budweiser Budvar have been involved in trademark battles for over 100 years.

Anheuser-Busch found itself in a predicament. Without the right to advertise its brand names in stadiums during the FIFA World Cup, much of its global media presence during this major event would be jeopardized.

After much debating and public outcry, Anheuser-Busch and Bitburger negotiated and came to a solution in December 2004.

Anheuser-Busch will be allowed to use its Bud brand name in advertisements during the FIFA World Cup and will maintain exclusive marketing rights to the tournament. In exchange, Bitburger can sell its product in unbranded cups at the World Cup, although it cannot use the FIFA trademark in any advertisements.

During the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in Japan and South Korea, there were more than 300 ambush marketing campaigns—often using famous football players and other football imagery and words—that suggested a sponsorship relationship between the advertiser and FIFA World Cup (See: Ed Meikle’s “Lawless Branding: Recent Developments in Trademark Law” and Abram Sauer’s “Ambush Marketing Steals the Show” on brandchannel.com).

The Anheuser-Busch/Bitburger case shows an alternative path to such below-the-belt partnerships. A way of combining the interests of two companies and cooperating in a fair manner—without which, no sport would be possible.

Slaven Marinovich is a freelance writer in Hamburg, Germany.