McDonald's Wins EU 'Mac' Trademark Case

BRUSSELS—McDonald's Corp. won a legal case in the European Union's second highest court, allowing the U.S. fast food chain to prevent the registration of trademarks for food and beverages with the prefix "Mac" or "Mc."

McDonald's had won a case in 2013 the European Union Intellectual Property Office challenging Singapore-based company Future Enterprises' registry of the name MACCOFFEE for its food and beverage products.

The EU's General Court on Tuesday upheld that ruling for similar reasons the Intellectual Property Office had given.

The General Court said the trademark MACCOFEE and McDonald's are phonetically similar and that the combination of "mac" with the name of a drink can lead the public to link that trademark to McDonald's.

It said the products designed by MACCOFFEE, such as ice cream, muffins, filled sandwiches "aren't simple ingredients serving as the basis for dishes served in fast-food restaurants, but correspond to the goods offered… on the menu" of fast-food chains.

The court therefore ruled that the use of the MACCOFFEE trademark "takes unfair advantage of the repute of McDonald's trade marks."

The decision can be appealed to the bloc's highest court, the European Court of Justice.

Write to Laurence Norman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 05, 2016 05:45 ET (09:45 GMT)

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