McDonald’s has lost the right to the trademark ‘Big Mac’

This was established by the European Union Office for Intellectual Property (EUIPO), which ruled on a company’s action concerning the revocation for non-use of the well-known American trademark.

The evidence provided by McDonald’s to demonstrate the serious and effective use of ‘Big Mac’ throughout the Union was not useful.

The decision states that certain evidence, for example extracts from websites, were not considered sufficient to demonstrate such use. There was no proof of the traffic generated by those sites in terms of users’ visits in order to determine and evaluate the specific purpose of the mark. Furthermore, neither the packaging nor the brochures submitted were considered to be relevant evidence in the absence of further indications that their distribution resulted in purchases. The trade mark ‘Big Mac’ declared invalid for non-use pursuant to Article 58(1)(a) of the Regulation on the Trade Mark of the European Union. However, the issue is currently not complete. McDonald’s could appeal to the EU Court and perhaps overturn the Office’s decision in its favour.