Food Empire loses fight to McDonald's over trademark names in EU

SINGAPORE-LISTED Food Empire has lost to global fast-food chain McDonald's to use "Mc" or "Mac" in trademark names for its foodstuff and beverages in the European Union (EU).

The firm said on Thursday morning that Europe's second-highest court, the General Court in Luxembourg, has ruled in favour of McDonald's, which comes after its wholly owned subsidiary Future Enterprises Pte Ltd challenged the European Union Intellectual Property Office's rejection of its application to register "MacCoffee" as an EU trademark.

"The directors of the company are disappointed with the General Court's decision," Food Empire's announcement said. "The company's legal counsels are studying the judgement with a view to appealing against this decision."

The group added that the decision will have minimal impact on the business as it currently sells "very little" MacCoffee products in EU countries.