Burger King serves up ‘Big Mac’ trademark battle in European Union
Photos from Wikimedia Commons.
“Big Mac-ish but Flame-Grilled of Course” is one of many new menu options at Burger King in Sweden less than a month after McDonald’s Corp. lost its rights to the trademark “Big Mac” in the European Union.
Burger King’s Swedish operation changed its menus to make fun of McDonald’s and released a video showing its customers ordering the unusual items, including “Burger Big Mac Wished It Was” and “Like a Big Mac, But Actually Big,” report the Guardian and Reuters.
McDonald’s trademark registration for “Big Mac” was revoked after it filed a lawsuit against Ireland-based fast-food chain Supermac’s and could not prove genuine use of the name over the five years prior to the case being filed in 2017, according to Reuters.
The ruling allows other companies as well as McDonald’s to use the “Big Mac” name in the EU, according to Reuters.
“McDonald’s just lost its trademark for the Big Mac for suing a much smaller player. … It’s too much fun for us to stay away,” said Iwo Zakowski, CEO of Burger King’s Swedish operation, in a news release procured by the Guardian.
