Current:Home > InvestMcDonald's loses "Big Mac" trademark as EU court sides with Irish rival Supermac's -Core Financial Strategies
McDonald's loses "Big Mac" trademark as EU court sides with Irish rival Supermac's
View
Date:2025-04-14 08:55:43
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! (5929)
Related
- Average rate on 30
- Grief and tangled politics were at the heart of Kentucky's fight over new trans law
- Amazon Reviewers Call This Their Hot Girl Summer Dress
- Recovery high schools help kids heal from an addiction and build a future
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Remember When Pippa Middleton Had a Wedding Fit for a Princess?
- Coastal Communities Sue 37 Oil, Gas and Coal Companies Over Climate Change
- California restaurant used fake priest to get workers to confess sins, feds say
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Trump Weakens Endangered Species Protections, Making It Harder to Consider Effects of Climate Change
Ranking
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- In a supreme court race like no other, Wisconsin's political future is up for grabs
- These Are the Best Appliances From Amazon for Small Kitchens
- Tiffany Haddish opens up about 2021 breakup with Common: It 'wasn't mutual'
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Documents in abortion pill lawsuit raise questions about ex-husband's claims
- Documents in abortion pill lawsuit raise questions about ex-husband's claims
- U.S. appeals court preserves partial access to abortion pill, but with tighter rules
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Days of 100-Degree Heat Will Become Weeks as Climate Warms, U.S. Study Warns
The future availability of abortion pills remains uncertain after conflicting rulings
This Week in Clean Economy: Northeast States Bucking Carbon Emissions Trend
Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
Idaho lawmakers pass a bill to prevent minors from leaving the state for abortion
These retailers and grocery stores are open on Juneteenth
Miranda Lambert calls out fan T-shirt amid selfie controversy: 'Shoot tequila, not selfies'