McDonald’s has lost the right to use the Big Mac trademark to designate poultry products in the European Union, according to an opinion published by the General Court of the EU (TGEU). This decision arises from litigation between McDonald’s and Supermac’s, an Irish fast food chain that requested in 2017 the expiration of the Big Mac trademark for certain products and services.
Supermac’s argued that McDonald’s had not effectively used the trademark in the EU for a continuous period of five years. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), located in Alicante, partially accepted Supermac’s application. Initially, the EUIPO confirmed the protection of the Big Mac trademark for products and services such as meat and poultry dishes, meat and chicken sandwiches, and services related to the operation of restaurants and the preparation of takeaway meals.
However, the TGUE, in its recent ruling, annulled and partially modified the EUIPO resolution, further restricting the protection granted to McDonald’s by the Big Mac trademark. The court determined that McDonald’s has not proven effective use of the Big trademark. Mac for the products ‘chicken sandwiches’, ‘dishes based on poultry products’ and services related to the operation of restaurants and other catering establishments for consumption and for purchase from cars (drive-in) and preparation of takeaway meals.
The TGUE concluded that the evidence presented by McDonald’s did not provide sufficient information on the importance of the use of the mark for the mentioned products, in terms of sales volume, duration of use and frequency. Therefore, the evidence examined by the EUIPO did not demonstrate effective use of the mark for those specific products.
The recent decision of the TGUE represents a significant setback for McDonald’s in its legal battle with Supermac’s, reducing the scope of protection of one of its most iconic brands within the European territory.
