McDonald’s has lost a trade mark battle against a small fast food chain over the use of the “Mc” prefix.
It is the second time the multi-billion-pound corporation has come up against Supermac’s, who operates 100 fast food restaurants in Ireland.
Handing down its judgment this week, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) said McDonald’s could not lay claim to the ‘Mc’ prefix on all of its products and merchandise.
The fast food giant had sought exclusive rights of the prefix, which is commonly used across its food products.
According to the report, the dispute ignited after McDonald’s challenged Supermac’s attempt to expand into UK and European markets.
Supermac’s complained to the EUIPO and argued that ‘Mc’ was a “very common prefix for surnames throughout Ireland, the United Kingdom and elsewhere throughout the European Union”.
Agreeing with the Irish chain, the intellectual property court ruled that McDonald’s had only shown evidence that the ‘Mc’ prefix was highly recognised on just some of its products, such as its McChicken nuggets and McChicken sandwich.
Labelling McDonald’s as a “McBully”, Supermac’s founder, Pat McDonagh, described the case as a “victory for small businesses”.
“We’re delighted with the latest decision by the EUIPO to remove McDonald’s’ monopoly of the ‘Mc’ prefix,” he said.
“McDonald’s tried to argue that because they had some products that started with ‘Mc’ that the term ‘Mc’ was so synonymous with them that they had the right to own and trade mark.
“We are delighted that the EUIPO found in our favour and that we can now say that we have rid Europe of the McDonald’s self-styled monopoly of the term ‘Mc’.
“They wanted to trade mark the term ‘Mc’ for everything, but this judgment means they can’t have it.”
A spokesperson for McDonald’s said: “The EUIPO upheld McDonald’s EU registration for the trade mark ‘Mc’ standing alone for certain core menu items which McDonald’s uses in connection with its famous family of Mc-prefixed trade marks.
“This decision does not impact McDonald’s ability to use its Mc-prefixed trade marks or other trade marks throughout Europe and the world, and McDonald’s will continue to enforce its rights.”
It is the second time Supermac’s has come up against the international food franchise. In January 2019, the EUIPO ruled that Supermac’s name was not “too similar” to McDonald’s popular food product, the Big Mac.