McDonald’s won’t appeal ‘Mc’ TM invalidation
McDonald’s will not appeal against the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s (EUIPO) decision to partially invalidate its ‘Mc’ trademark.
The EUIPO issued the decision last August, after Irish restaurant chain Supermac’s pushed for the office to cancel the mark.
McDonald’s failed to prove genuine use of the ‘Mc’ trademark for a range of goods and services, including non-alcoholic beverages, the EUIPO found.
The deadline for McDonald’s to appeal the decision has now passed, and proceedings on the ‘Mc’ mark are closed. McDonald’s now holds the ‘Mc’ trademark for a narrower range of goods than before, including chicken nuggets and sandwich products.
The decision comes as part of a wider dispute with Supermac’s, which claims that McDonald’s has been using its trademarks to block the Irish chain from expanding into other countries.
In a statement to RTÉ News, Supermac’s managing director Pat McDonagh said that the decision was another ‘concession’ from McDonald’s.
“The decision by McDonald's not to appeal the original EUIPO ruling regarding the revocation of their colonisation of Mc registrations is a vindication of our campaign to not allow McDonald's bully us as competitors," McDonagh said.
He added: "It is clear that they have looked at the situation and have come to the only decision available to them. They have conceded."
Supermac’s other notable victory in the ongoing dispute came last January, when the EUIPO cancelled McDonald’s EU trademark for ‘Big Mac’.
McDonald’s has appealed that decision, which was also based on the franchise failing to prove genuine use of the mark.
Last November, WIPR published an interview with Hazel Tunney, partner at Tomkins in Dublin, and trademark lawyer for Supermac’s, about the dispute.
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