Irish Burger Chain Supermac's Loses EU Trademark Appeal Against McDonald's

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has ruled against the Irish fast-food chain Supermac's in its trademark appeal against McDonald's, determining that Supermac's logos and signs could be confused with the global chain's Big Mac trademark. The decision means Supermac's cannot register certain trademarks in the European Union.

Supermac's had argued that it and McDonald's had coexisted in Ireland for approximately 40 years without evidence of consumer confusion. The chain's legal team contended that there was "no reasonable likelihood that the relevant public would mistake a Supermac's restaurant for a Big Mac burger." They further argued that a consumer attending a Supermac's would not expect to purchase a Big Mac, given the widespread recognition of Big Mac as a McDonald's product.

McDonald's, in its response to the EUIPO, stated that the issue of coexistence in Ireland was irrelevant to the case, which focused on whether a conflict existed within the European Union. The fast-food giant submitted that consumers might not easily distinguish between Big Mac as a food product and Supermac's as a restaurant chain, suggesting that "the boundaries between food products… and… a restaurant name, are blurred in the perception of the relevant public."