Jurisdiction(s):
Ireland

EU General Court: Big Mac trade mark loses poultry protection for lack of genuine use; reputation and marketing materials alone are insufficient evidence

Published on: 24 June 2024

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

Proving genuine use of a brand

The need to evidence genuine use means even household names must assemble robust proof if they intend to enforce their intellectual property, legal experts say. BDB Pitmans partner Dennis Lee observed that the key lesson from the ruling is a reminder to global giants that an overly bullish brand protection strategy does not always pay off. In June 2024, the EU’s General Court overturned exclusive protection for the Big Mac trade mark covering “chicken sandwiches”, along with certain other goods and services. The court held that McDonald’s materials showed use of the Big Mac branding for items such as beef burgers, yet failed to establish use in relation to poultry products. This development is simply the latest step in a long-running tussle between McDonald’s and Irish fast food chain Supermac’s, which began when McDonald’s curtailed Supermac’s efforts to expand across Europe on the basis that consumers were likely to be confused by the name...

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