McDonald's Loses Big Mac Trademark Over Chicken in Europe — Update

By Dominic Chopping

McDonald's no longer has the exclusive right to call chicken sandwiches sold in the European Union a 'Big Mac,' an EU court ruled on Wednesday.

The decision means any company in the bloc can now use the name to sell poultry products, and use the word 'Mac' in their company name.

The ruling comes after Irish fast-food chain Supermac's previously tried to trademark its name and logo in the EU, seeking to expand into continental Europe. The move was originally blocked by McDonald's based on its Big Mac trademark, which covered the moniker's use for food and restaurant names.

But in 2017, Supermac's filed to revoke McDonald's decades-long EU trademark on the use of the Big Mac name, claiming the U.S. fast-food giant hadn't put the trademark to genuine use in a range of food products or, specifically, in restaurant names.

The EU Intellectual Property Office subsequently canceled the trademark's broad coverage of all goods and services, a decision that was largely overturned on appeal by McDonald's, again blocking Supermac's ability to trademark its name.

However, in a statement Wednesday, the Luxembourg-based EU General Court partially sided with Supermac's, limiting the coverage of McDonald's trademark. It said McDonald's hadn't proved genuine use of the Big Mac name within a continuous period of five years in the European Union in connection with chicken sandwiches, poultry products or in the name of its restaurants.

"McDonald's loses the EU trademark Big Mac in respect of poultry products," the court ruled. The company retains the Big Mac EU trademark in relation its beef burgers.

"This is a significant ruling that takes a common-sense approach to the use of trademarks by large multi-nationals," Supermac's managing director Pat McDonagh said.

Supermac's opened its first restaurants in 1978 and now operates more than 100 locations across Ireland, selling products including beef and chicken burgers, chicken nuggets, subs and salads.

McDonald's has nearly two-and-a-half months to lodge an appeal to Europe's top court, the European Court of Justice.

"The decision by the EU General Court does not affect our right to use the Big Mac trademark," a spokesperson for McDonald's said in an emailed statement.

Supermac's remains in dispute with McDonald's over the same trademark issue in the U.K., given EU trademark law no longer applies after the country's exit from the European Union. The company expects to have a U.K. court hearing within the next month or so.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 05, 2024 10:46 ET (14:46 GMT)

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