McDonald's Loses Chicken Big Mac Trademark In European Union

McDonald's Corp. MCD has lost the trademark rights to its chicken-based Big Mac in the European Union.

What Happened: The ruling was made by the EU's General Court in Luxembourg on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported. The court determined that McDonald's did not provide sufficient evidence of continuous use of the Chicken Big Mac trademark over the past five years within the 27-nation bloc. The ruling does not affect the trademark for the traditional beef Big Mac.

The decision can still be appealed to the EU's highest court. The case was initiated by Irish rival Supermac's, which argued that McDonald's had not genuinely used the Chicken Big Mac trademark in the EU. Supermac's managing director, Pat McDonagh, called the ruling a significant victory for small businesses.

McDonald's stated that the ruling does not impact their right to use the “BIG MAC” trademark and emphasized their commitment to serving communities across Europe.

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Why It Matters: The loss of the Chicken Big Mac trademark in the EU is a notable setback for McDonald's, especially as the company has been actively expanding its brand presence in various innovative ways. In February 2022, McDonald's filed trademarks for its brands in the metaverse, indicating a strategic move to protect its intellectual property and explore new digital avenues. The filings included potential virtual food and beverage products, downloadable multimedia files like non-fungible tokens, and hosting virtual entertainment services such as concerts.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari