McDonald's has suffered a defeat in the long-standing trademark dispute over the Big Mac at the EU Court in Luxembourg. The court ruled that trademark protection for the Big Mac will be limited in relation to poultry products. Consequently, the fast-food giant loses the European trademark rights to the Big Mac for poultry products.

The court justified its ruling by stating that McDonald's had not provided sufficient evidence that the Big Mac brand had been seriously used for poultry products in the past five years. Although there had been a special edition "Big Mac Chicken" in some EU countries in the past, the evidence presented was not sufficient.

The classic Big Mac with beef, as is customary in Germany, remains unaffected by this ruling. McDonald’s has the option to appeal the decision before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The dispute began back in 2017 when the Irish fast-food chain Supermac's filed a request with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to cancel the Big Mac trademark in the EU. McDonald's had registered the trademark in 1996. The EUIPO partially granted the request in early 2019, but the trademark protection for poultry products remained. Supermac's then took the matter to the EU court, which has now overturned and partially modified the EUIPO's decision.

The EU court found that McDonald's did not provide sufficient evidence for the use of the Big Mac trademark for chicken sandwiches. In particular, information on sales volumes and other important proofs of use were missing.

EU trademark rights, known as Union trademarks, apply throughout the entire European Union and exist alongside national trademark rights.