McDonald’s loses Big Mac brand exclusivity in Europe

big Mac This is no longer a single brand McDonald’s in the European Union. This decision was made by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which found that the American-origin restaurant chain had failed to demonstrate the use of the name in some of the products and services it offers.

In particular, the court notes that The Company has not demonstrated that the mark was used to identify “chicken sandwiches,” “poultry-based” products, or in connection with services “provided by or in connection with the operation of restaurants.” and other establishments or catering establishments for consumption and purchase from cars (drive-in) and preparation of take-out meals.

It should be noted that The Big Mac is one of the beef hamburgers sold at these restaurants.However, according to the CJEU ruling, this name was also assigned to the previous categories, which prevented other companies from using it.

In 2017, the Irish fast food chain Super Max filed an application to revoke the trademark, which was registered in 1996 at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The EUIPO then granted the request, but considered that McDonald’s use should also be protected in the food service and chicken products sectors.

This Wednesday’s ruling reverses the EUIPO’s decision and restricts McDonald’s use of the Big Mac: “The evidence provided by McDonald’s does not provide any indication of the importance of using the Big Mac trademark to identify the above-mentioned products in particular as such. regarding the volume of sales, the duration of the period during which these exploitation activities were carried out and their frequency,” explains the CJEU in a press release.

Moreover, the CJEU finds that during the last five years the trademark has not been used for the purposes currently permitted.

This isn’t the first time SuperMac and McDonald’s have clashed over branding and name issues. In 2019, the Irish network managed to ensure that the giant with the yellow letter “M” lost the exclusivity of the “Ms” prefix..