Chow Ang Moh McDonald LOST BIG MAC Trade Mark in Europe! changing name to Big Prata?

[democracy my butt]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cecili...alds-lost-its-big-mac-in-europe/#1bfe42dc5d1b

How McDonald's Lost Its 'Big Mac' In Europe





Cecilia Rodriguez Senior Contributor




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  MacDonald's lost the right to the trademark "Big Mac" across Europe to the Ireland-based, fast-food chain Supermac.
  
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  This is the end of the McBully
  

A Big Mac hamburger and french fries pictured in a McDonalds store in Central London Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP/GettyGetty

In a landmark decision by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), MacDonald's lost the right to the trademark "Big Mac" across Europe to the Ireland-based, fast-food chain Supermac.

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According to the ruling revoking the US food giant’s 1996 trademark registration, McDonald's failed to prove genuine use of "Big Mac" as a burger or restaurant name in the five years before 2017, when the case was filed.

The world's largest fast-food chain had argued that the similarity between Big Mac and Supermac would confuse customers.





It had also "submitted printouts of European websites as well as posters, packaging, and affidavits from company representatives, to attest to 'Big Mac' sales in Europe," according to Reuters. "The EUIPO said the affidavits from McDonald’s needed to be supported by other types of evidence, and that the websites and promotional materials did not provide that support."

A McDonald's in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg© 2015 Bloomberg Finance LP

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For Supermac, based in Galway, the decision opens the door to register the brand in Europe as a trademark and clears the way for its ambition to expand across Great Britain and continental Europe.

The ruling has been presented in the British media as a victory for small business in general and a way to stop bigger companies from “trademark bullying” by not allowing them to hoard trademarks without using them.

"Just because McDonald's has deep pockets and we are relatively small in context, doesn't mean we weren't going to fight our corner," Pat McDonagh, the managing director of the Irish chain, told the BBC. " This is the end of the McBully ."

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According to McDonagh, McDonald's has also trademarked the SnackBox, “which is one of Supermac’s most popular products, even though the product is not actually offered by them. The EU is basically saying either use it or lose it.”

He told RTÉ that McDonald's had registered a number of "Mc" names, across the world, including "Mac Internet" and "Mac Country."

The first Supermac restaurant was opened in 1978 in Ballinasloe, a town in County Galway, and has expanded to 106 outlets across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

This is not the first time an European court has ruled on McDonald’s rights to use prefixes: In 2016, the company won a case against a Singaporean company that had registered MacCoffee as a European Union trademark.

"We are disappointed in the EUIPO’s decision and believe it did not take into account the substantial evidence submitted by McDonald’s proving use of our BIG MAC mark throughout Europe," the US company said in a statement. "We intend to appeal the decision and are confident it will be overturned by the EUIPO Board of Appeals. McDonald’s owns full and enforceable trademark rights for the mark "BIG MAC" throughout Europe."

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In a Britain profoundly divided over Brexit, the case has been used as an example of the value of European Union membership. “You can go to the EU and get a fair hearing,” said McDonagh.

 

[democracy my butt]

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/01/euipo-cancels-mcdonalds-big-mac-trade.html

EUIPO says McDonald's 'BIG MAC' trade mark may be revoked due to lack of genuine use
Eleonora Rosati Friday, January 18, 2019 - affidavits, Article 58(1)(a) EUTMR, BIG MAC, brochures, Cancellation No 14 788 C, EUIPO, evidence, genuine use, lack of genuine use, McDonald's, Supermac, wikipedia

Can the word EU trade mark (EUTM) 'BIG MAC' owned by McDonald's be revoked for non-use? The answer is 'yes'.

The EUIPO Cancellation Division provided it further to an application for revocation filed by Irish company Supermac (Cancellation No 14 788 C).

What happened?

McDonald's is (or, rather, was) the owner of the word mark 'BIG MAC' for the following goods and services in Classes 29, 30 and 42 of the Nice Classification:



Supermac filed an application under Article 58(1)(a) of the EU Trade Mark Regulation, requesting the revocation - in its entirety - of 'BIG MAC', on grounds that the mark would have not been put to genuine use for a continuous period of 5 years.

In response to the application, McDonald's submitted evidence that 'BIC MAC' would be in use in a number of Member States, including in advertising and on the packaging of relevant products.

The applicant noted that the evidence submitted by McDonald's would prove genuine use for sandwiches, but not also in relation to the other goods and services for which the registration was obtained. A such, the application was to be upheld.

McDonald's replied noting that the mark was genuinely used in Germany, France, and the UK, and that this would prove genuine use in the EU. Furthermore, use of 'BIG MAC' in relation to sandwiches would also mean use of the trade mark in relation to its ingredients.

The decision

When it comes to revocation proceedings on grounds of non-use, the burden of proof does lie with the trade mark owner, not the applicant. The latter cannot be in fact requested to prove a negative fact, that is non-use of the former's registered sign.

McDonald's submitted the following evidence that the Cancellation Division:

• 3 affidavits signed by McDonald's representatives detailing sales figures for the period 2011-2016;
• Brochures and printouts of advertising posters, dated between 2011 and 2016;
• Printouts from a number of McDonald's websites, dated between 7/1/2014 and 3/10/2016;
• A printout from a Wikipedia entry (in English) providing information on McDonald's Big Mac.

Proof of BIG MAC's genuine use
within The IPKat team
The Cancellation Division deemed this evidence insufficient to prove genuine use during the relevant period of time (11/4/2012 - 10/4/2017). Although all evidence submitted must be appreciated as a whole and entails a degree of interdependence between the relevant factors (time, place, extent and nature of use), in this case the trade mark proprietor had failed to provide evidence that would prove genuine use throughout that period of time.

Among other things, McDonald's had failed to provide third-party evidence and the brochures did not provide any details regarding how they were circulated and whether they led to any actual or potential purchases. As regards the Wikipedia entry, the Cancellation Division was not impressed by that piece of evidence either, noting that anyone can amend Wikipedia entries. As such, it would have been necessary to have this piece of evidence supported by "other pieces of independent concrete evidence".

The EUIPO concluded that:

Even if the goods were offered for sale, there is no data about how long the products were offered on the given web page or in other ways, and there is no information of any actual sales taking place or any potential and relevant consumers being engaged, either through an offer, or through a sale. Finally, as far as the relevant services are considered, there is no single piece of evidence that refers to any of the registered services being offered under the EUTM.

It follows, that an overall assessment of the evidence does not allow the conclusion, without resorting to probabilities and presumptions, that the mark was genuinely used during the relevant period for the relevant goods or services​

Comment

The outcome of these proceedings might appear - prima facie - surprising, also considering the notoriety of McDonald's Big Mac. However, it is a useful reminder that, even if one owns a well-known trade mark that might have been clearly in use during the relevant period, one should not overlook the importance of the evidence - and its quality - that needs to be provided to prove such genuine use in the event of an application for revocation.

From reading the decision, it appears that Supermac somewhat also made the point that 'BIG MAC' would be (or was) a trade mark with over-broad class specifications. Also depending on how the Court of Justice of the European Union decides in the pending Sky/SkyKick referral, this might be a further point trade mark owners - whether current or potential - should pay significant attention to.

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[democracy my butt]

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...oses-big-mac-trademark-legal-battle-supermacs

McDonald's loses Big Mac trademark after legal battle with Irish chain
Supermac strips US food giant of trademark across Europe after landmark EU ruling

Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
@rorycarroll72
Tue 15 Jan 2019 16.37 GMT Last modified on Tue 15 Jan 2019 20.20 GMT



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Lovin’ it? A Big Mac burger. Or is it a sandwich? Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Pat McDonagh earned the nickname Supermac as an Irish teenager after a barnstorming performance in a Gaelic football match in the late 1960s.
The centre half-back guided his school, Carmelite college of Moate, County Westmeath, to victory over St Gerald’s, a more fancied team.
On Tuesday, half a century later, McDonagh prevailed in a different arena when his fast-food chain, Supermac’s, won a landmark legal battle against McDonald’s over the use of trademarks.
The Galway-based firm persuaded the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to cancel McDonald’s use of the “Big Mac” trademark, opening the way for Supermac to expand across Britain and continental Europe.
McDonald’s can appeal against the ruling.




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A Supermac’s restaurant on O’Connell Street in Dublin. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
“We’re delighted. It’s a unique victory when you take on the golden arches and win,” McDonagh, Supermac’s managing director, said.

“This is a victory for all small businesses. It prevents bigger companies from hoarding trademarks with no intention of using them.”

The EUIPO, which is based in Alicante, Spain, ruled that McDonald’s had not proven genuine use of Big Mac, which it trademarked in 1996, as a burger or restaurant name.

The trademark had stymied Supermac’s ambition of expanding beyond Ireland because McDonald’s had argued that similarity between Big Mac and Supermac would confuse customers.




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Pat McDonagh, managing director of Irish fast-food chain Supermac’s Photograph: Supermac's
“We said there’d be no confusion. Big Mac and Supermac are two different things,” said McDonagh, 65.

He opened the first Supermac’s in Ballinasloe, a town in county Galway, in 1978. The company now has 106 outlets across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

In a statement, Supermac’s said it had won a David versus Goliath battle against trademark bullying by a powerful multinational.
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“They trademarked the SnackBox, which is one of Supermac’s most popular products, even though the product is not actually offered by them,” said McDonagh. “The EU is basically saying either use it or lose it.”

On the day of the Brexit vote in Westminster the case showed the value of European Union membership, he said. “You can go to the EU and get a fair hearing.”

McDonald’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

[democracy my butt]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...k-case-to-irish-chain-supermacs-idUSKCN1P92JA

McDonald's loses 'Big Mac' trademark case to Irish chain Supermac's


3 Min Read

(Reuters) - McDonald’s Corp has lost its rights to the trademark “Big Mac” in a European Union case ruling in favor of Ireland-based fast-food chain Supermac’s, according to a decision by European regulators.


The judgment, provided to Reuters by Supermac’s, revoked McDonald’s registration of the trademark, saying that the world’s largest fast-food chain had not proven genuine use of it over the five years prior to the case being lodged in 2017.
The Spain-based EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) did not respond to phone calls and emails requesting comment.

McDonald’s was not immediately available to comment on the decision, which the company can still appeal.
The ruling allows other companies as well as McDonald’s to use the “Big Mac” name in the EU.
Supermac’s said it can now expand in the United Kingdom and Europe. It said it had never had a product called “Big Mac” but that McDonald’s had used the similarity of the two names to block the Irish chain’s expansion.

“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,” founder Pat McDonagh told Reuters in an email.
“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.”
McDonald’s, which sells its flagship “Big Mac” burgers internationally, submitted printouts of European websites as evidence, as well as posters, packaging, and affidavits from company representatives attesting to “Big Mac” sales in Europe.
The EUIPO said the affidavits from McDonald’s needed to be supported by other types of evidence, and that the websites and other promotional materials did not provide that support.

Slideshow (2 Images)
From the website printouts “it could not be concluded whether, or how, a purchase could be made or an order could be placed,” the EUIPO said. “Even if the websites provided such an option, there is no information of a single order being placed.”
McDonald’s has historically been “extremely litigious” in the area of trademark law and typically does not lose, said Willajeanne McLean, a law professor at the University of Connecticut.
In 1993, McDonald’s won a court order blocking a dentist in New York from selling services under the name “McDental.”
In 2016, McDonald’s defeated an effort by a Singapore company to register ‘MACCOFFEE’ as an EU trademark.
Reporting by Soundarya J in Bengaluru and Jan Wolfe in Washington; editing by Patrick Graham and Rosalba O'Brien
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Ang4MohTrump]

They can change their name to McDotard now, Dotard fucking love to eat McDonald.

 

[McDollar]