US fast food giant McDonald's has lost an 8-year trademark battle to prevent Malaysia's restaurant McCurry from using the "Mc" prefix in a precedent-setting judgement by the country's highest court. The Federal Court ruled on Tuesday that McDonald's cannot appeal against another court's verdict that had allowed McCurry to use "Mc" in its name. The owner says McCurry, which serves Indian food, is an abbreviation for Malaysian chicken curry.
"On the basis of unanimous decision, our view is that McDonald's plea to carry the case forward has no merit," said chief judge Arifin Zakaria. "It is unfortunate that we have to dismiss the application with costs," the judge said. McDonald's will have to pay 10,000 ringgit ($2,900) to McCurry, a popular eatery in Jalan Ipoh on the edge of Kuala Lumpur's downtown.
The Appeals Court said McDonald's cannot claim exclusive right to the "Mc" prefix in the country. McDonald's asked the Federal Court for permission to appeal against that decision but was denied on Tuesday.
McCurry lawyer Sri Dev Nair said the ruling meant McDonald's did not have a monopoly on the prefix "Mc," and that other restaurants could also use it as long as they distinguish their food from McDonald's.
"At last, the eight-year legal battle is over," said McCurry's owner AMSP Suppiah, 55. The Malaysian restaurant's logo is a chicken giving a thumbs up with the wording, "Malaysian Chicken Curry." Judge Gopal Sri Ram of the Court of Appeal had ruled in April that McCurry is a typical Indian restaurant selling Indian and local dishes while McDonald's "is a multinational vendor of fast food such as burgers, French fries and milkshakes."
The Oak Brook, Illinois-based fast food chain in 2004 lost an attempt to stop Singapore-based Future Enterprises from distributing products with names like "MacTea." The same year, it won a 16-year fight to stop Big Mak Burger Inc of the Philippines from marketing a burger with a name similar to the "Big Mac" sandwich of McDonalds's. There are other cases where McDonald's had failed. There is a Canadian ruling allowing another company to use "McBeans" for gourmet coffee. As long as there is no trade mark infringement, smaller companies definitely have a fighting chance against the bid brand names.
Source : fnbnews
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