Supermac has also complained that McDonald’s has registered the same name, despite not offering any food under this name.
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Fast food giant McDonald’s has lost the right to use the name ‘Big Mac’ for its large chicken sandwich, in the European Union, following a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice.
The sentence is the consequence of a long battle against his Irish rival: Supermac. The Galway company sells chicken nuggets and chicken and beef burgers throughout Ireland. The ruling now allows other fast food or poultry companies to use the name “Mac” both in the corporate name of their companies and in their food products.
This decision was made after the European Court of Justice considered that McDonald’s could claim to have made the best use of the brand over the past five years. Furthermore, he also ruled that, since McDonald’s was not currently using the name for any of its restaurants.had to leave open the opportunity for other restaurants to do so.
Supermac had also alleged that its biggest rival, McDonald’s, had taking advantage of his dominance over the ‘Mac’ name to make it difficult for chains like Supermac to expand in the UK and the rest of Europe.
Pat McDonagh, CEO of Supermac, said, as reported by ‘The Telegraph’: “When we undertook this battle we knew it was a David and Goliath showdown. The original aim of our annulment application was to shed light on the use of brand intimidation by this multinational to stifle competition“.
Supermac had already complained before that McDonald’s had trademarked the name SnackBox, which is the name of one of its best-selling offerings, even though McDonald’s has nothing by this name on its own menu.
The court’s ruling will mean that McDonald’s will only be able to keep the brand “Big Mac” for its red meat sandwiches, but not for its chicken and poultry products. McDonald’s has not revealed whether it will appeal the decision of the European Court of Justice. However, in the United Kingdom, Supermac and McDonald’s remain at odds, because EU trademark law does not apply after Brexit.
Controversy at McDonald’s after free meals for Israeli soldiers
In recent months, McDonald’s has faced a wave of criticism for offeringthousands of free meals to Israeli soldiers. This has led the company to be one of the fast food chains in the spotlight of the Palestinian Boycott movement, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).
In its defense, McDonald’s has stressed that all its franchisees acted independentlywithout any influence from the company, and that it would not take sides in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
However, the controversy has led to McDonald’s to announce that it will buy back some 225 of its franchised restaurants in Israel, managed by Alonyal. This decision comes after mediocre sales, as more and more customers choose to boycott fast food chains.
