MANAGING DIRECTOR OF Irish fast food outlet Supermac’s is travelling to Alicante today to contest his company’s right to continue to use their own name.
Pat McDonagh will be appearing before the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHM) to contest an objection made by international fast food chain McDonald’s.
A submission will be made against an objection lodged by McDonald’s to Supermac’s attempt to have its name trademark registered across Europe.
The Irish company has said that not being able to use its name would prevent its expansion outside of Ireland – although McDonald’s have contended that the names could cause confusion.
In a statement today, the restaurant has explained that the origin of Supermac’s comes from the nickname ‘Supermac’ founder Pat McDonagh had during his days as a footballer with the Carmelite College in Moate.
“We are responding to demands coming from fifteen cities internationally for the opening of Supermac’s restaurants. For more than 30 years Supermac’s has traded successfully alongside McDonald’s in Ireland and Northern Ireland. I don’t believe this could be any different in other countries,” he said.
The Irish chain had previously stated that it intended to expand its operation into the Australian market – although this was stalled by objections from the McDonald’s.
Earlier this year Supermac’s made light of the situation by pretending to change its name to McDonagh’s as part of an April Fool’s prank.
In response to Supermac’s action today, a spokesperson for McDonald’s said, “As with all companies around the world, McDonald’s defends the values of our brand, including our trade marks.”
These actions are intended to protect consumers against confusion and prevent others from taking unfair advantage of our trade marks.
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