Lessons learned from the BIG MAC: how to prevent trademark revocation for non-use

Published

Feb 23 2023

Contacts

Associate
Italy

Here at Bird & Bird, I am a senior associate in our Intellectual Property Group in Milan with experience across the food and beverage, luxury, fashion and design sectors.

Paola Ruggiero

Counsel
Italy

As Counsel here at Bird & Bird, I have broad experience in Italian and European IP law, representing our clients from industries including food, fashion, entertainment, media, retail, finance and insurance, in trade mark, copyright and design matters.

The EUIPO Cancellation Division (the “Division”) ruled against the owner’s BIG MAC trademark registration, stating it should be revoked for non-use. This outcome was surprising given the BIG MAC burger is one of the most popular and well-known products in the fast-food market. On 14 December 2022,the EUIPO board of appeal(the “Board”) departed from the ruling granting revocation on the basis of non-use by partially upholding the appeal filed by the owner.

Read the full article on Brandwrites here