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BRUSSELS.- The General Court of the EU – in the first instance of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) – revoked this Wednesday the right of the American fast food chain McDonald’s to exclusively use the brand ‘Big Mac‘ for failing to demonstrate effective use for an uninterrupted period of five years with respect to 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 a trademark revocation request, which was registered in favor of McDonald’s in 1996, with respect to various products and services.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) partially granted that request in 2019 but confirmed the protection granted to McDonald’s for 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 annulled and partially modified the EUIPO ruling and further limited the protection granted to McDonald’s for the ‘Big Mac’ trademark‘, since it considered that the fast food giant did not demonstrate that its trademark has been subject to effective use, specifically, with regard to products such as chicken sandwiches, dishes based on poultry products and thus rejected understand the brand name as synonymous with the American chain’s own services and restaurants. The original version – with beef -, however, remains a registered trademark of the American company.
Thus, McDonald’s lost its exclusive rights to the ‘Big Mac’ brand‘, which will allow other chains and companies to use this name to designate their products in the EU territory..
“McDonald’s loses the European Union Big Mac trademark to designate poultry products,” the TGUE highlighted in a statement. The Chicken Big Mac does not appear on the chain’s traditional menu in the European area.
In a statement, McDonald’s acknowledged the ruling and stressed that it “does not affect” its right to use the ‘Big Mac’ trademark.
For his part, the general director of Supermac, Pat McDonagh, pointed out that the TGUE ruling was “common sense.” “The original objective of our request (…) was to shed light on the abusive use of registered trademarks by this multinational to stifle its competitors,” he concluded.
Europa Press and AFP Agencies
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