McDonald’s loses case over Big Mac trademark against Irish chain

US fast food giant McDonald’s has lost the EU trademark for “Big Mac” in relation to chicken sandwiches as part of a long-running dispute with an Irish restaurant chain.

On Wednesday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld a complaint from Galway-based Supermac’s.

The case relates to a European trademark for the words “Big Mac” which was registered with the EU International Property Office (EUIPO) in respect of meat, fish and chicken sandwiches as well as a range of restaurant services including takeaway food and drive-through facilities.

The trademark was originally registered for McDonald’s in 1996.

Generally, the rights of a holder to an EU trademark are revoked on application to EUIPO, if it has not been put to genuine use within a continuous period of five years.

In 2017, Supermac’s filed an application for revocation of that mark in relation to certain goods and services.

It submitted that the mark had not been put to genuine use in such a five-year period.

The application was partially upheld but the EUIPO still allowed McDonald’s to use Big Mac for products made with meat or poultry as well as in respect of restaurant services.

After that decision, Supermac’s argued at the ECJ that McDonald’s had insufficiently used the contested trademark in relation to “chicken sandwiches”, adding that the US food giant’s evidence on the matter was essentially limited to the marketing of “meat sandwiches”.

However, the court ultimately found that the evidence was not sufficient to prove McDonald’s had used the contested trademark enough in relation to poultry products.

In addition, the court considered whether McDonald’s had the right to Big Mac as a protected trademark in relation to branding restaurant services including takeaway food and drive-through facilities.

The ECJ upheld Supermac’s complaint on this matter and overturned McDonald’s protection of the phrase for such purposes.

Each party was ordered to bear its own costs.