McDonald’s fights to hold onto ‘Extra Value Meal’ – Business News
McDonald’s misplaced the trademark rights to its “Extra Value Meal” moniker – and now it’s combating to win them back.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected for the second time the fast-food chain’s trademark software on April 14, arguing the phrase describes a discounted food bundle – not something distinctive to McDonald’s.
The burger behemoth re-launched its meal deal choices in September 2025, together with gadgets like $5 sausage, egg and cheese McGriddle meals and $8 10-piece chicken McNuggets meals.
McDonald’s re-launched its fan-favorite meal offers in September 2025. Tada Images – stock.adobe.com
The world’s largest fast-food chain has used the Extra Value Meal trademark on and off for 30 years, beginning within the Nineties and up till it discontinued the promotion in 2019.
Long-term emblems need to be renewed each 10 years, however when that window popped up for McDonald’s between late 2023 and 2024, it allowed the registration to lapse, in accordance to Josh Gerben, a trademark lawyer and founder of Gerben IP.
“It’s very rare for a large company to own a trademark for three decades … and let it just abandon,” he instructed The Post. “It’s a bit of a head scratcher.”
To file a renewal request, McDonald’s needed to be actively utilizing the Extra Value Meal phrase, which it wasn’t – however the company might have gotten inventive and used the time period in promotional methods to hold onto it for longer, Gerben mentioned.
“This is a routine update in a trademark filing process,” a McDonald’s spokesperson instructed The Post.
“It has zero impact on our ability to use ‘Extra Value Meal’ in our restaurants as we have for decades. Any claims otherwise are manufactured news.”
McDonald’s filed a new trademark software in July 2025 tied to the September 2025 meal deal re-launch. That means rivals can’t use the phrase whereas McDonald’s fights for the patent — although they might have prior to final July.
“If Burger King wanted to have some fun, that would’ve been a fun PR move,” Gerben instructed The Post. “McDonald’s could’ve jumped in … but it would’ve been a bit of a fiasco.”
McDonald’s Extra Value Meals embody presents like $5 Sausage, Egg and Cheese McGriddle meals and $8 10-piece Chicken McNuggets meals. McDonalds
Gerben mentioned McDonald’s has a very robust case for its trademark software and can doubtless finish up profitable over the USPTO.
The patent workplace rejected the McDonald’s software for being “merely descriptive,” that means the phrase Extra Value Meal simply describes a bundled meal deal at an additional low cost.
More distinctive emblems are a lot simpler to defend, like Nike’s swoosh or Apple’s partially-bitten apple – neither of which have something to do with sneakers or computer systems, Gerben mentioned.
McDonald’s has used the Extra Value Meal trademark on-and-off for 30 years. Adriana – stock.adobe.com
But McDonald’s is arguing that Extra Value Meal has “acquired distinctiveness,” that means shoppers broadly affiliate the phrase with McDonald’s thanks to widespread advertising, a flood of information headlines and 30 years with the model.
In its resolution on April 14, the USPTO mentioned it couldn’t contemplate the company’s arguments about acquired distinctiveness as a result of its software was filed as “intent-to-use” – that means McDonald’s wants to replace its software to replicate that the phrase is already back in use. McDonald’s has already filed the modification.
The Extra Value Meal offering has performed a essential position in serving to McDonald’s get better from sluggish growth as low- and middle-income shoppers have cut back on eating out.
In February, McDonald’s mentioned its US same-store gross sales jumped 6.8% within the fourth quarter from the earlier yr – attributing the rise to its meal offers and particular, limited-time choices.
