Current:Home > InvestMcDonald's loses "Big Mac" trademark as EU court sides with Irish rival Supermac's -Prime Capital Blueprint
McDonald's loses "Big Mac" trademark as EU court sides with Irish rival Supermac's
View
Date:2025-04-17 14:18:33
McDonald's lost a European Union trademark dispute over the Big Mac name after a top European Union court sided Wednesday with Irish fast-food rival Supermac's in a long-running legal battle.
The EU General Court said in its judgment that the U.S. fast-food giant failed to prove that it was genuinely using the Big Mac label over a five-year period for chicken sandwiches, poultry products or restaurants.
The Big Mac is a hamburger made of two beef patties, cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and Big Mac sauce. It was invented in 1968 by a Pennsylvania franchisee who thought the company needed a sandwich that appealed to adults.
- Top McDonald's exec says $18 Big Mac meal is "exception"
- Burger King to launch $5 meal ahead of similar promo from rival McDonald's
- McDonald's buying back its franchises in Israel as boycott hurt sales
The decision is about more than burger names. It opens the door for Galway-based Supermac's expansion into other EU countries. The dispute erupted when Supermac's applied to register its company name in the EU as it drew up expansion plans. McDonald's objected, saying consumers would be confused because it already trademarked the Big Mac name.
Supermac's filed a 2017 request with the EU's Intellectual Property Office to revoke McDonald's Big Mac trademark registration, saying the U.S. company couldn't prove that it had used the name for certain categories that aren't specifically related to the burger over five years. That's the window of time in Europe that a trademark has to be used before it can be taken away.
"McDonald's has not proved that the contested mark has been put to genuine use" in connection with chicken sandwiches, food made from poultry products or operating restaurants and drive-throughs and preparing take-out food, the court said, according to a press summary of its decision.
After the regulator partially approved Supermac's request, McDonald's appealed to the EU court.
Supermac's portrayed the decision as a David and Goliath-style victory. Managing Director Pat McDonagh accused McDonald's of "trademark bullying to stifle competition."
- Americans are choking on surging fast-food prices
- Wendy's offers $3 breakfast combo as budget-conscious consumers recoil from high prices
"This is a significant ruling that takes a common-sense approach to the use of trademarks by large multi-nationals. It represents a significant victory for small businesses throughout the world," McDonagh said in a statement.
The Irish company doesn't sell a sandwich called the Big Mac but does have one called the Mighty Mac with the same ingredients.
McDonald's was unfazed by the ruling, which can be appealed to the European Court of Justice, the bloc's highest court, but only on points of law.
"The decision by the EU General Court does not affect our right to use the 'BIG MAC' trademark," the company said in a press statement. "Our iconic Big Mac is loved by customers all across Europe, and we're excited to continue to proudly serve local communities, as we have done for decades."
- In:
- Politics
- European Union
veryGood! (4132)
Related
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Blinken, Lavrov meet briefly as U.S.-Russia tensions soar and war grinds on
- Racist horror tropes are the first to die in the slasher comedy 'The Blackening'
- In 'American Born Chinese,' a beloved graphic novel gets Disney-fied
- Trump's 'stop
- 3 new books in translation blend liberation with darkness
- Central Park birder Christian Cooper on being 'a Black man in the natural world'
- 'The Little Mermaid' is the latest of Disney's poor unfortunate remakes
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Cold Justice Sneak Peek: Investigators Attempt to Solve the 1992 Murder of Natasha Atchley
Ranking
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- The AG who prosecuted George Floyd's killers has ideas for how to end police violence
- Indonesia landslide leaves dozens missing, at least 11 dead
- We recap the Succession finale
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Central Park birder Christian Cooper on being 'a Black man in the natural world'
- Vanity Fair's Radhika Jones talks Rupert Murdoch and Little House on the Prairie
- HBO's 'The Idol' offers stylish yet oddly inert debut episode
Recommendation
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
The Hills' Kaitlynn Carter Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 2 With Kristopher Brock
How Grown-ish's Amelie Zilber Is Making Her Own Rules On TikTok
If you don't love the 3D movie experience, you're not alone
As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
Bethenny Frankel Details Struggle With POTS Syndrome After Receiving Comments About Her Appearance
Jenna Ortega's Edgy All-Black 2023 SAG Awards Red Carpet Look Deserves Two Snaps
Ida B. Wells Society internships mired by funding issues, says Nikole Hannah-Jones