This is a significant victory for Supermacs over McDonalds.
Galway based fast food chain Supermac’s has won its long running case against McDonald’s, to have the use of the iconic Big Mac trademark cancelled.
In a landmark judgement by European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the office said McDonalds had not proven genuine use of the contested trademark as a burger or as a restaurant name.
This is a significant victory for Supermac’s against McDonalds, given it's a Europe wide judgement.
McDonalds had previously succeeded in putting a stop to Supermac’s plans to expand into the UK and Europe on the basis of the similarity between the name Supermac’s and the Big Mac.
This judgement means that the main argument put forward by the US based company is now gone.
Supermac’s MD, Pat McDonagh, said that the judgement represents a victory for small businesses all over the world. “We knew when we took on this battle that it was a David versus Goliath scenario but just because McDonalds has deep pockets and we are relatively small in context doesn’t mean we weren’t going to fight our corner.
“The original objective of our application to cancel was to shine a light on the use of trademark bullying by this multinational to stifle competition. We have been saying for years that they have been using trademark bullying,” Mr McDonagh said.
“They trademarked the SnackBox, which is one of Supermac’s most popular products, even though the product is not actually offered by them.”
“This is the end of the McBully. This decision by the European Trademark Office is also an indication of how important the European institutions are to help protect businesses that are trying to compete against faceless multinationals,” he said.
