"This decision by the WTO halts Budejovicky Budvar’s efforts to rely on this registration of ’Budejovicke pivo’ to justify its use of the Budweiser name," Anheuser-Busch President Stephen Burrows said in a statement.

A U.S. trade official, speaking on the condition that he not be identified, said the WTO panel ruled that the Czech brewer, Budejovicky Budvar, could not justify its use of the Budweiser name on the grounds that it was the translation of the place name it had registered for exclusive use under the European Union "geographic indications" regime.

The WTO panel also agreed with the United States that the EU’s regime does not provide the same degree of protection for U.S. product place names, such as Idaho potatoes or Florida oranges, as it does it for its own, U.S. officials said.

"This is a big win for American farmers and food processors," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said in a statement. "We brought this case because we believed that, under WTO rules, U.S. farmers, ranchers, and other food producers should have the same access to protection for geographical indications as European food producers. Europe clearly failed to provide this access."