McCurry: Proving that McDonald's doesn't own the prefix 'Mc'?

In a true David and Goliath battle, McDonald's have lost an eight year battle to prevent a family-run Kuala Lumpur restaurant from calling itself McCurry, saying that the use of 'Mc' infringed upon its trademark.

It was determined by Malaysia's top court that McDonald's did not have a monopoly on the prefix 'Mc' and that any restaurant was allowed to use it as long as their food was suitably different from McDonald's.

The owner P Suppiah, who has long insisted that 'Mc' meant 'Malaysian Curry', was happy with the decision. He said to reporters,

"We feel great that this eight-year legal battle is finally over. We can now go ahead with whatever we plan to do such as opening new branches."

He also stated he is now looking for partners to expand now that the legal campaign is over, with plans to launch a chain of restaurants across Malaysia and possibly overseas.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Suppiah said, "We definitely want to bring our vision to a broader clientele. We're even looking at opening international franchises."

McDonald's, which has more than 170 outlets in Malaysia, first sued the McCurry restaurant in 2001 and the lawsuit rapidly became a 'cause célèbre'.

Mr. Suppiah's 24-hour restaurant quickly become a local icon in the Jalan Ipoh district of Kuala Lumpur, with red-and-white signage and a popular menu with Malaysian-style tea, coconut rice with spicy shrimp and chicken, and chicken tandoori.

McDonald's initally won in 2006 when a High Court ruled in its favour, but then McCurry took the case to the Court of Appeal, which overturned the ruling. McDonald's then took the case to the Federal Court, where a three-member panel today unanimously dismissed the application.

According to the Associated Press, McDonald's have accepted the decision.

8/09/09

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