McDonald’s Fights to Regain “Extra Value Meal” Trademark

McDonald’s is currently in a battle to reclaim the trademark for its “Extra Value Meal.” The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office turned down the fast-food giant’s application on April 14 for the second time. They argue that the term simply describes a discounted meal option and isn’t exclusive to McDonald’s.

The chain reintroduced its meal offerings in September 2025, featuring options such as the $5 Sausage, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle and $8 10-piece Chicken McNuggets.

For around 30 years, McDonald’s used the Extra Value Meals trademark, starting in the ’90s and discontinuing the promotion in 2019. Trademarks need to be renewed every decade, but McDonald’s let its registration expire when the deadline came in late 2023 or early 2024, according to Josh Gerben, a trademark lawyer.

“It’s pretty unusual for a major company to own a trademark for three decades and then just let it go,” he mentioned, calling it a potential headache.

To renew the trademark, McDonald’s would have needed to still be using the term Extra Value Meal. Gerben suggested that McDonald’s could have been more inventive in using the term in promotions to keep it active.

“This is just a standard update in the trademark application process,” a spokesperson from McDonald’s stated. “It doesn’t affect our ability to use ‘Extra Value Meals,’ as we always have. Any contrary claims are misleading.”

In July 2025, McDonald’s filed a new application linked to the return of its meal offerings. For the duration of their trademark dispute, competitors can’t use the term, although they could have before last July.

Gerben pointed out that it would have been a clever marketing move for Burger King to take advantage of this situation, but it could have turned messy.

McDonald’s has argued strongly for its trademark and is likely to succeed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to Gerben. The Patent Office rejected the previous application, labeling it as “merely illustrative,” meaning that “extra value meal” only describes a meal deal with a discount.

Gerben noted that trademarks like Nike’s swoosh or Apple’s bitten apple are easier to defend, as they don’t directly relate to the products they represent.

However, McDonald’s maintains that its Extra Value Meal has become synonymous with the brand, partly due to extensive marketing and its long history. The USPTO’s April decision indicated that they couldn’t recognize claims of acquired distinctiveness because the application was marked for “intended use,” which means McDonald’s would need to amend it to state the term is already in use. They’ve already started that process.

The Extra Value Meal has significantly contributed to McDonald’s recovery from slower growth as lower to middle-income customers cut back on dining out. In February, the company reported a 6.8% increase in U.S. same-store sales in the fourth quarter compared to the previous year, driven by a boost in meal deals and limited-time offers.