The European Union’s General Court on Wednesday ruled against McDonald’s, stripping the fast-food giant of its right to use the “Big Mac” trademark on chicken sandwiches in the EU. The court determined that McDonald’s had failed to prove it had used the trademark for poultry products in recent years, leading to the decision.
The ruling came after Supermac’s, a smaller Irish fast-food chain, persuaded the court to revoke McDonald’s rights to use the “Big Mac” mark on poultry goods and certain fast-food preparation services. McDonald’s, which had registered its Big Mac trademark in the EU in 1996, was unable to provide sufficient evidence showing genuine use of the mark on chicken sandwiches over the past five years.
According to the court, McDonald’s evidence did not demonstrate the quantity, regularity, or recurrence of the distribution of chicken sandwiches under the “Big Mac” mark. As a result, the court concluded that McDonald’s could not prove real commercial use of the contested mark in connection with chicken sandwiches.
