McDonald's loses court battle in Europe over chicken Big Mac
The General Court of the European Union considers that the American company has not demonstrated its effective use on the continent for an uninterrupted period of five years with respect to certain products and services.
File photo dated 03/08/20 of a McDonald's sign. The UK boss of McDonald's has appointed a new unit to crack down on sexual harassment and bullying after admitting the business has ""fallen short"". Alistair Macrow said the investigation handling unit will able to refer cases to specialist investigators. Issue date: Friday July 21, 2023.
Fast food giant McDonald's lost a legal battle against an Irish chain on Wednesday after a European Union court ruled that it cannot call its chicken burgers Big Mac. A press release issued by the court explained that "the General Court considers that McDonald's has not demonstrated its effective use in the E.U. for an uninterrupted period of five years in respect of certain products and services."
"Through its ruling, the General Court annuls and partially modifies the resolution of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), in such a way that it further limits the protection granted to McDonald's by the Big Mac trademark," highlights the statement.
Likewise, the court recalls that the lawsuit was filed by Supermac's and McDonald's and noted that "they are involved in litigation relating to the European Union trademark Big Mac. This trademark was registered in favor of McDonald's in 1996. In 2017, Supermac's filed an application for revocation of the aforementioned trademark with respect to certain products and services. The latter company considered, in effect, that the trademark had not been put to genuine use in the [European] Union in respect of those goods and services for an uninterrupted period of five years."
In a statement obtained by AFP, McDonald's acknowledged the ruling and stressed that "it does not affect our right to use the 'Big Mac' trademark." Meanwhile, Supermac CEO Pat McDonagh said the TGUE's ruling was "common sense."
"The original objective of our application ... was to shed light on the abusive use of trademarks by this multinational to stifle its competitors," McDonagh said.
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