The court found that McDonald’s had not made genuine use of the trademark to sell “chicken sandwiches” and “foods prepared from poultry products”. Nor had McDonald’s made genuine use of the Big Mac trademark when opening restaurants and drive-through outlets.

The court found that the evidence submitted by McDonald’s did not indicate the extent of use of the trademark in connection with poultry products, in particular when it came to the volume of sales, the length of the period during which the mark was used, and the frequency of use.