The General Court of the EU – in the first instance of the CJEU – has revoked this Wednesday the right of the American fast food chain McDonald’s to exclusively use the brand ‘Big Mac‘ for not demonstrating its effective use in the Union during … an uninterrupted period of five years in respect of certain products and services.
This ruling is the result of litigation that dates back to 2017, when the Irish fast food chain Supermac’s filed an application for revocation of the trademark, which was registered in favor of McDonald’s in 1996, with respect to certain products and services.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) partially granted that request in 2019 but confirmed the protection granted to McDonald’s by the ‘Big Mac’ trademark, in particular, with respect to dishes based on meat and poultry products and meat and chicken sandwiches.
In addition, it endorsed its association with the services provided or related to the operation of restaurants and other establishments or catering facilities for consumption and for purchase from cars (drive-in) and with the preparation of take-out meals.
However, in his ruling this Wednesday, The General Court annuls and partially modifies the resolution of the EUIPO and further limits the protection granted to McDonald’s for the ‘Big Mac’ trademark, since it considers that McDonald’s has not demonstrated that said trademark has been subject to effective use, specifically, with regard to products such as chicken sandwiches, dishes based on poultry products and refuses to understand ‘Big Mac’ as synonymous with the American chain’s own services and restaurants.
Thus, McDonald’s loses its exclusive rights to the ‘Big Mac’ brandwhich will allow other chains and companies to use this name to designate their products in the EU territory.
