Does McDonald’s Sell Big Macs? The EU Isn’t So Sure
An absurd ruling that strips the fast-food giant of the trademark for its signature burger is a prime example of a bureaucracy run amok.
What is that thing?
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images North AmericaDoes McDonald’s sell Big Macs? The European Union’s Intellectual Property Office isn’t so sure, and has stripped the company of the BIG MAC trademark. This is but the latest example of an EU allergy to U.S. multinationals that officials always deny but somehow keeps erupting.
The EUIPO ruling, which McDonald’s says it plans to appeal, reads like it was written by someone who has never been to a McDonald’s. It maintains that the U.S. corporation has been unable to prove that it actually sells Big Macs, even though the fast-food chain had presented what it considered to be definitive proof, such as affidavits from employees in the U.K., Germany and France, pictures from the corporate website and even a printout from Wikipedia that describes the Big Mac as “a hamburger sold by international fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s” since 1967.