BRUSSELS: US fast-food chain McDonald’s does not have the right to use the term “Big Mac” for poultry products after it had not used it for them for five consecutive years, Europe’s second top court said on Wednesday, in a partial win for Irish rival Supermac’s in a long-running trademark dispute.
The Luxembourg-based General Court’s ruling centered on Supermac’s attempt in 2017 to revoke McDonald’s use of the name Big Mac which the US company had registered in 1996 for meat and poultry products and services rendered at restaurants.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)dismissed Supermac’s application for revocation and confirmed McDonald’s use of the term for meat and chicken sandwiches, prompting the Irish company to challenge the decision.
Supermac’s, which opened its first restaurants in Galway in 1978, sells beef and chicken burgers as well as fried chicken nuggets and sandwiches.
The General Court rejected McDonald’s arguments and partially annulled and altered EUIPO’s decision.
“McDonald’s loses the EU trade mark Big Mac in respect of poultry products,” judges ruled.
“McDonald’s has not proved genuine use within a continuous period of five years in the European Union in connection with certain goods and services,” they said.
McDonald’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ruling can be appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union, Europe’s highest.
The case is T-58/23 Supermac’s v EUIPO – McDonald’s International Property (BIG MAC).
No more chicken Big Macs as EU court rules against McDonald’s in trademark case
https://arab.news/cq69a
No more chicken Big Macs as EU court rules against McDonald’s in trademark case
- US fast-food had not used it for them for five consecutive years, Europe’s second top court said on Wednesday
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
