BRUSSELS (Reuters) – McDonald’s does not have the right to use the term “Big Mac” for poultry products in Europe after not using it for them for five consecutive years, the region’s second top court said on Wednesday, a partial win for Irish rival Supermac’s in a long-running trademark dispute.
The Luxembourg-based General Court’s ruling centred on Supermac’s attempt in 2017 to revoke McDonald’s use of the name Big Mac, which the U.S. company had registered in 1996 for meat and poultry products and services rendered at restaurants.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) dismissed Supermac’s application for revocation and confirmed McDonald’s use of the term for meat and chicken sandwiches, prompting the Irish company to challenge the decision.
Supermac’s, which opened its first restaurants in Galway in 1978 and had sought to expand in the United Kingdom and Europe, sells beef and chicken burgers as well as fried chicken nuggets and sandwiches.
The General Court rejected McDonald’s arguments and partially annulled and altered EUIPO’s decision.
“McDonald’s loses the EU trade mark Big Mac in respect of poultry products,” judges ruled.
“McDonald’s has not proved genuine use within a continuous period of five years in the European Union in connection with certain goods and services.”
The U.S. fast-food chain said in an email it can still continue to use the Big Mac trademark, which it uses chiefly for a beef sandwich.
Supermac’s founder Pat McDonagh told Ireland’s Newstalk Radio that the decision was “a big win for anyone with the surname Mac”.
“It does mean we can expand elsewhere with Supermac’s across the EU, so that is a big win for us today,” he told the radio station.
Additionally, the EU court ruling underscores the importance of maintaining fair competition in the marketplace.
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