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The judgment, provided to Reuters by Supermac's, revoked
McDonald's registration of the trademark, saying that the
world's largest fast-food chain had not proven genuine use of it
over the five years prior to the case being lodged in 2017.
The Spain-based EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) did not
respond to phone calls and emails requesting comment.
McDonald's was not immediately available to comment on the
decision, which the company can still appeal.
The ruling allows other companies as well as McDonald's to use
the "Big Mac" name in the EU.
Supermac's said it can now expand in the United Kingdom and
Europe. It said it had never had a product called "Big Mac" but
that McDonald's had used the similarity of the two names to
block the Irish chain's expansion.
"Supermac's are delighted with their victory in the trademark
application and in revoking the Big Mac trademark which had been
in existence since 1996," founder Pat McDonagh told Reuters in
an email.
"This is a great victory for business in general and stops
bigger companies from "trademark bullying" by not allowing them
to hoard trademarks without using them."
McDonald's, which sells its flagship "Big Mac" burgers
internationally, submitted printouts of European websites as
evidence, as well as posters, packaging, and affidavits from
company representatives attesting to "Big Mac" sales in Europe.
The EUIPO said the affidavits from McDonald's needed to be
supported by other types of evidence, and that the websites and
other promotional materials did not provide that support.
From the website printouts "it could not be concluded whether,
or how, a purchase could be made or an order could be placed,"
the EUIPO said. "Even if the websites provided such an option,
there is no information of a single order being placed."
McDonald's has historically been "extremely litigious" in the
area of trademark law and typically does not lose, said
Willajeanne McLean, a law professor at the University of
Connecticut.
In 1993, McDonald's won a court order blocking a dentist in New
York from selling services under the name "McDental."
In 2016, McDonald's defeated an effort by a Singapore company to
register ‘MACCOFFEE’ as an EU trademark.
(Reporting by Soundarya J in Bengaluru and Jan Wolfe in
Washington; editing by Patrick Graham and Rosalba O'Brien)
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