ARQUE Advocaten is assisting snack bar Wendy’s from Goes in the long-running dispute against the American Wendy’s regarding the trademark “Wendy’s”.
On January 14, 2026, the appellate body of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) issued three notable rulings in this case.
History between the parties
Snack bar Wendy’s, named after the owner’s daughter, has held Benelux trademark rights to the name WENDY’S since 1995. This means that the snack bar has the exclusive right to this name within the hospitality sector in the Benelux. After years of litigation, the Dutch court ruled that the snack bar’s trademark was applied for in good faith and is therefore valid, and that the American hamburger chain Wendy’s may not establish itself in the Benelux under the name WENDY’S.
Following the conclusion of these proceedings, the American Wendy’s initiated new proceedings: it has asked the Dutch court to declare the snack bar’s trademark “lapsed”. A trademark can be declared invalid, among other things, if it is not used “normally” for a period of at least 5 years. Declaration of invalidity entails that a trademark is removed from the trademark register. According to the American Wendy’s, the snack bar’s use of the trademark in one city in the Netherlands (Goes) was insufficient normal use of a Benelux trademark, and the trademark therefore had to be removed from the register. In 2021, the Dutch court ruled that the snack bar had used the trademark sufficiently normally for hospitality services, even though this use took place only in one city in the Netherlands.
**Procedures before the EUIPO**
Wendy’s US applied for various European trademarks in 2013. With this, it attempted to obtain protection of the trademark name throughout the entire European Union. However, obtaining European trademark protection is not possible if an older trademark right already exists somewhere in the European Union. Holders of an older trademark right may therefore file an objection (opposition) against conflicting European trademark applications. Consequently, the snack bar filed an opposition against the trademark applications of the American Wendy’s. In the opposition proceedings before the EUIPO, normal use also played a role: an opposition must be dismissed if the mark on which the opponent relies has not been in normal use for more than five years. Wendy’s US therefore also argued in the opposition proceedings that the snack bar had not been in normal use of the Benelux mark. In the summer of 2024, the Opposition Division of the EUIPO ruled that the snack bar had indeed been in normal use of the mark and that the trademark applications of the American Wendy’s for food, beverages, and restaurant services had to be refused. The American Wendy’s has appealed against this decision to the Board of Appeal of the EUIPO.
Recent decisions of the Board of Appeal
On January 14, 2026, the Board of Appeal also ruled that use in a single city in the Netherlands is sufficient to maintain a Benelux mark. A factor in this is that the snack bar has been using the mark since the 1980s and that local presence is customary in the snack bar sector. The snack bar can therefore lodge an opposition against the applications of Wendy’s US, and according to the Board of Appeal, these oppositions succeed insofar as they are directed against the registration of the trademarks for food, beverages, and restaurant services. This entails that the registration of these trademarks for the aforementioned goods and services is refused because they correspond to the snack bar’s older Benelux trademark.
Conclusion
Trademark law is a strong right. Not only can the snack bar, with a Benelux trademark, prevent other parties in the same industry from establishing themselves in the Benelux under the same or a similar name, but it can also use this trademark to prevent parties from acquiring European trademark rights.
Do you have questions about the protection and/or enforcement of trademark rights? Please feel free to contact us!