After a top EU court decided in favor of the Irish fast-food business Supermac’s, McDonald’s suffered a loss in Europe. McDonald’s ability to exclusively utilize the “Big Mac” trademark for chicken goods inside the European Union is limited by the ruling.
With this, an extended legal battle that started in 2017 is resolved. McDonald’s trademark on the “Big Mac” for chicken sandwiches and poultry goods was attempted to be withdrawn by Supermac’s, a well-known Irish fast-food chain with more than 100 locations. This action was taken in response to McDonald’s own opposition to Supermac’s application to register a comparable trademark in the EU.
The McConfusion and the EUIPO:
Given the legendary prominence of the Big Mac sandwich, McDonald’s claimed that Supermac’s adoption of a similar name would cause confusion among customers. Since its debut in 1968, the Big Mac—a double-decker beef patty burger with a secret sauce—has been an integral part of the McDonald’s menu. The Chicken Big Mac wasn’t very common inside the EU, while it was offered at various areas outside of it.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) served as the first front in the conflict. At first, the EUIPO rejected McDonald’s trademark for chicken items in favor of Supermac’s. After McDonald’s filed an appeal, the EUIPO changed its mind and maintained McDonald’s trademark for goods made from both beef and poultry.
Court Rules: Use It or Lose It
In the General Court, the second-highest court in the European Union, Supermac’s contested the EUIPO’s final ruling. In 2023, the court issued a decision that favored Supermac. The court determined that McDonald’s was unable to provide evidence of legitimate use of the “Big Mac” trademark for chicken items within a five-year period that was continuous within the EU.
An essential component of trademark law is the “use it or lose it” mentality. Brands that are actively used in the market are intended to be protected by trademarks. A corporation runs the danger of losing the exclusive right to a name if it doesn’t utilize it for a long enough amount of time.
In this instance, the court determined that McDonald’s had not sufficiently established a link with chicken goods in the EU market and instead largely connected the Big Mac with beef burgers. Supermac’s could be able to utilize a similar moniker for their own chicken items without confusing customers because of this lack of use.
What’s Next for the Big Mac in Europe?
The ruling of the court is only applicable inside the EU. In other regions of the world, McDonald’s is still able to use the “Big Mac” trademark for goods made with chicken and beef. Furthermore, McDonald’s is still permitted to use the name in the EU for beef burgers.
The decision does, however, provide Supermac’s permission to perhaps launch a chicken sandwich bearing the same brand in the European market. The highest court in the Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union, provides another avenue of appeal for McDonald’s to challenge the ruling.
This example emphasizes how crucial it is to aggressively use trademarks in a given region across a variety of product categories. It is unclear how McDonald’s will react to this ruling and whether it will change their approach to promoting the well-known Big Mac brand in Europe.
