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Many entrepreneurs have attempted to appropriate McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) brand recognition to benefit their own businesses; witness MacJoy, McMunchies, McAllen, McSleep, and McChina Wok Away to name but a few. But the burger chain will have none of that and has aggressively pursued the protection of its trademark and name.
McCurry of Malaysia, however, has finally succeeded in convincing a local court to allow it to continue to sell its food under the McCurry name, as long as its menu remains distinct from that of McDonald's. The ruling marks the end of an eight-year legal battle.
According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), McCurry opened in 1999, serving curries from India and Malaysia in the typical American fast-food format. Instead of Big Macs, however, the restaurant features traditional favorites such as mutton, chicken and fish-head curry.
McDonald's claimed that the name and the curry restaurant's red and gold logo created brand confusion. The new ruling overturns a 2006 decision by the Malaysian Hight Court that agreed with and awarded damages to McDonald's. McDonald's has nearly 200 outlets in the southeastern Asian nation.
Flush with this success, McCurry owners expressed grandiose plans to the BBC to take the chain worldwide.
I can't wait for my first fish-head happy meal.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-27-2009 @ 6:20AM
trademarkprotected said...
The recent McDonald's v. McCurry ruling is not surprising. Just by the three main DuPont factors alone, appearance, sound and meaning, these two marks are arguably not confusingly similar. Add to that the difference in menus, and the difference in trade dress, and you have a pretty strong case for McCurry, which the panel seemingly accepted. The letters "Mc" cannot be totally, exclusively owned by one entity worldwide. And it's not as if people are going to mix up McCurry with McDonalds. Now, if McCurry used the golden arches, had a clown and similar characters associated with the restaurant, that would be problematic. Those elements were not present in this case. On our site, http://www.trademarksprotected.com, we help with these trademark issues and any trademark questions.