Fast food giant McDonald’s has lost the rights to its trademark ‘Big Mac’ following a ruling in favour of an Irish burger chain called Supermac’s.
The landmark decision means if and when Supermac’s expands out of Ireland into the U.K., the chain will be able to use the ‘Big Mac’ name.
According to ABC News, McDonald’s lost ‘Big Mac’ as the fast food restaurant had not been able to prove “genuine use of it” in the five years before the case was lodged in 2017.
Despite the lawsuit and win, Supermac’s does not, nor has ever had a burger called the ‘Big Mac’, though the burger chain claims McDonald’s’ use of the name had hindered its expansion into the EU and abroad.
In an email, Supermac’s founder Pat McDonagh said: “Supermac’s are delighted with their victory in the trademark application and in revoking the Big Mac trademark which had been in existence since 1996.
“This is a great victory for business in general and stops bigger companies from ‘trademark bullying’ by not allowing them to hoard trademarks without using them.”