Who doesn't know the Big Mac, the McChicken, the McFlurry, the McDeluxe... and their many fellow creatures that are distributed by the millions every day around the world? McDonald's, whose reputation is well established, but which continues to invest colossal sums in advertising and sponsorship, has just obtained a decision from the Court of the European Union (TEU) which could allow it to have once and for all an exclusive monopoly on the use of the prefix Mc or Mac for food products, drinks and of course catering services.
In this case, a Singaporean company is filing in 2010 a European trademark called "MACCOFFEE", which designates food products and beverages. McDonald's opposes the registration of this mark on the basis of its earlier marks and wins its case before the EUIPO (formerly OHIM). McDonald's does not have a 'Mc' or 'Mac' mark alone to support its applications. It therefore relies on a dozen or so marks composed of the prefix "Mc" to invoke the existence of a family of marks. The Singaporean company is appealing the decision, which is however confirmed by the TEU on 4 July 2016. Indeed, even if it considers that the visual resemblance between the marks at issue is not obvious, there is sufficient phonetic and conceptual similarity to create a likelihood of confusion in the minds of the public. Moreover, the reputation of McDonald's Mc prefix in the restaurant business works in its favour, and aggravates that likelihood of confusion.
With such a decision for her, McDonald's will now be able to reign supreme over the Mc prefix in Europe!