MALAYSIA: McDonald's loses trademark battle to Malaysian McCurry restaurant

Record ID: 767085

  • Title: MALAYSIA: McDonald's loses trademark battle to Malaysian McCurry restaurant
  • Date: 9th September 2009
  • Summary: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (SEPTEMBER 08, 2009) (REUTERS) McCURRY LOGO WITH THUMBS UP CHICKEN McDONALD'S LOGO WITH GOLDEN ARCHES PALACE OF JUSTICE SIGNAGE PASSER-BY LOOKING AT TV SCREEN SHOWING COURT CASES CLOSE UP OF NOTICE BOARD WITH McCURRY VS McDONALD'S LAW SUIT SIGNAGE ON TOP PF ENTRANCE TO COURT ROOM POLICEMAN McCURRY LAWYER SRI DEN NAIR TALKING TO REPORTERS OUT
  • Embargoed: 24th September 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVADP2H15EFJCUZ59KCDR3DW88M4
  • Story Text: Fast food giant McDonald's on Tuesday (September 8) lost an eight-year trademark battle against a Malaysian curry restaurant after the country's highest court allowed the latter to use the prefix 'Mc'.
    Malaysia's Federal Court dismissed an application by McDonald's Corporation to appeal against an earlier Appeals Court judgment which allowed McCurry to use the prefix.
    McCurry, which is short for "Malaysian Chicken Curry," serves Malaysian and Indian staples, including fish-head curry.
    Chief Judge of Malaya Ariffin Zakaria, reading the verdict of the three-person Federal Court in the administrative capital, said McDonald's had failed to properly frame its questions when applying to challenge the Appeals Court's earlier verdict.
    Outside the court, McCurry co-owner P. Suppiah was jubilant.
    "Feeling great that the, at last this nine year old legal saga battle is over, we are very much relieved, very much relieved," he said.
    His co-owner, Kanageswary Suppiah, said she would now like to see the store expand.
    "We are so happy that we can now put this thing behind us and start expanding our business - what we thought about nine, eight years ago, we would like to see a few more McCurries," she said.
    The lawyer representing McCurry, Sri Den Nair, said he agreed with the verdict.
    "There is no similarity in their business, in their foods and the type of customers they have. So it is totally different and that is what the court of appeal found, you know, that is what the court of appeal found."
    One customer eating at the curry restaurant agreed with the court's finding.
    "Nothing wrong, how can that be? This is McCurry House, McCurry House not McDonald's. McDonald's is different, their food is different, here the food is different, isn't it?" said Suppiah Karuppiah.
    McDonald's, which has 185 outlets in Malaysia, first sued the curry restaurant in 2001 and a High Court ruled in favor of the international fast food chain in 2006.
    McCurry then took the matter up to the Court of Appeal, which ruled in favor of the Malaysian restaurant.
    McDonald's subsequently took the matter to the Federal Court.
    The McDonald's operation in Malaysia, with a population of 27 million people, is run as a franchise by prominent businessman Vincent Tan.
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