McDonald’s loses European brand “Big Mac” for chicken products. This was proven by an EU court, which ruled that the US company was unable to demonstrate effective use in the EU – for a continuous period of five years – of certain products and services (related to catering, consumption, in-car orders, and takeaways) related to poultry meat, That is: chicken sandwiches and foods containing chicken.
Supermac’s accusation against McDonald’s
The issue was brought to the attention of the judges seven years ago by the Irish restaurant chain Supermac’s, which boldly applied to cancel the EU trademark “Big Mac”, which McDonald’s had registered in 1996. The argument was precisely that the American giant had not used it for Five consecutive years, on a large list of products and services.
In the first place, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (Euipo) partially granted the Irish chain’s application, but confirmed protection of the disputed trademark on meat and poultry-based foods, on meat and chicken sandwiches and on all associated services.
EU court overturns trademark protection
But the Luxembourg court annulled the EUIPR decision and partially reformed it, excluding chicken sandwiches and all poultry products and related services in terms of catering, delivery and takeaway from the trademark umbrella.
“The evidence presented by McDonald’s Corporation does not provide any indication of the extent to which the mark has been used for these types of products and services in terms of sales volume, duration of the period over which acts of use were carried out and frequency of use,” we read in the judgment in the case T-58/23 | Supermac’s / EUIPO – McDonald’s International Ownership Corporation (BIG MAC) has just placed its application. “Therefore, the evidence taken into account by the EUIPR does not allow it to prove the existence of a genuine use of the disputed trademark.”
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