Source: CNN

The American fast food chain McDonald’s has lost the right to use the Big Mac trademark to designate poultry products in the European Union. According to the ruling published by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the company has not demonstrated its effective use in Europe for an uninterrupted period of five years, thus restricting the “Big Mac” denomination to traditional veal hamburgers.

The ruling follows a long legal battle dating back to 2007, when Supermac’s tried to register its name in the European Union as a trademark for restaurants, with the aim to entering the rest of Europe, which led McDonald’s to oppose Supermac’s application as a name and logo.

In this context, McDonald’s argued that the name was too similar to its Big Mac burgers and that it would cause misperception among customers, thus obtaining a partial victory in 2016. Subsequently, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) confirmed the protection granted to McDonald’s by the ‘Big Mac’ trademark with respect to dishes based on meat and poultry products and meat and chicken sandwiches.

However, in its latest ruling, the General Court annulled and partially modified the EUIPO’s decision, further limiting the protection granted to McDonald’s by the ‘Big Mac’ trademark, as it considers that the American giant has not demonstrated that said trademark has been subject to genuine use regarding the products “chicken sandwiches” and “poultry-based dishes” during the last five years.

In addition, it ruled that since McDonald’s did not currently use the name for any of its restaurants, nor did it demonstrate its relevance in terms of sales volume, the length of the period in which those acts of use were carried out and their frequency; The famous chain had to leave open the opportunity for other restaurants to do so.

For its part, the fast-food company has not revealed whether it will appeal against the decision of the European Court of Justice. However, in the UK, Supermac and McDonald’s remain at loggerheads, due to EU trademark law not being applicable in this region.