Irish fast food chain Supermac's has won a long running case against US giants McDonalds over the use of the use of the iconic 'Big Mac' trademark.
The landmark judgement from the Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) means that McDonald's use of the 'Big Mac' and 'Mc' trademarks has been cancelled across Europe.
The EUIPO found that McDonalds had not proven genuine use of the Big Mac trademark as a burger or restaurant name, " for any of the goods and services for which it is registered."
"As a result, the application for revocation is wholly successful and the contested EU Trade Mark must be revoked in its entirety," it said.
The registered trade mark has been revoked across Europe as and from April 11th 2017.
The dispute between the two restaurants kicked off after Supermac's announced plans to expand into Europe.
The US chain said the name Supermac's was too similar to their iconic burger name.
Supermac's argued that McDonalds was engaging in "trademark bullying" by "registering brand names which are simply stored away in a war chest to use against future competitors."
In a statement this morning, Supermac's said the main argument put forward by McDonalds is now gone.
The company's Managing Director said the judgement represents a victory for small businesses all over the world.
"We knew when we took on this battle that it was a David versus Goliath scenario but just because McDonalds has deep pockets and we are relatively small in context doesn’t mean we weren’t going to fight our corner," he said.
"The original objective of our application to cancel was to shine a light on the use of trademark bullying by this multinational to stifle competition.
"We have been saying for years that they have been using trademark bullying.
"They trademarked the SnackBox, which is one of Supermac’s most popular products, even though the product is not actually offered by them."
In its judgement, the EUIPO also decided that McDonalds should bear the costs for the revocation.
McDonalds has been contacted for comment.
