Big Mac battle: McDonald's loses European Union trademark fight with Irish rival Supermac's

LONDON: McDonald s lost a European Union trademark dispute over the Big Mac name after a top European Union court sided on Wednesday with Irish fast f...

LONDON: McDonald's lost a European Union trademark dispute over the Big Mac name after a top European Union court sided on 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.

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.