According to the American Wendy’s, the Zeeland Wendy’s, which has been using the name since 1988, has not used the name normally. It should therefore be declared “lapsed”. The two Wendy’s have been arguing since the 1990s about who belongs to the brand. In addition, the American Wendy’s believes that the trademark right should expire because the local snack bar Wendy’s is not active throughout the Benelux.
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According to the court, the snack bar uses the brand for its intended purpose as a snack bar in the fast food market, thereby complying with the rules. According to the judge, it is also not a requirement for a neighborhood snack bar to have multiple branches or to promote outside the region. That is why the snack bar can continue to be called Wendy’s.
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The Zeeland-West-Brabant court previously ruled in favor of the Zeeland snack bar. The American chain appealed against this. The ruling now means yet another setback for the American company that also wants to become active in Europe.
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