McDonald's loses fight over `Mc' to Malaysia's McCurry

Fast food multinational McDonald's has lost its exclusivity to use the `Mc' prefix in Malaysia after a court here allowed a local Indian restaurant to use its McCurry signage.

Judges at the Court of Appeal rejected McDonald's contention that McCurry Restaurant in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, was usurping the former's business.

''The irresistible inference to be drawn from the totality of the evidence is that McCurry's Restaurant signboard would not result in reasonable persons associating McCurry with the McDonald's mark," Appeal Court judge Sri Ram said in his judgement.

The judge also said the choise of the name `McCurry Restaurant' cannot be construed as a way of obtaining an unfair advantage from the usage of the prefix `Mc'.

''You have to look at the plaintiff's getup or logo as a whole ... it consists of a distinctive golden arched `M' with the word, McDonald's, against a red background,'' he said, adding, "The defendant's signboard carried the words 'Restoran McCurry' with the lettering in white and grey on a red background with a picture of a chicken giving a double thumbsup and with the wording, 'Malaysian Chicken Curry'."

''The defendant's presentation of its business is in a style and getup which is distinctly different from that of the plaintiff," said the judge, adding that none of the food items served at McCurry Restaurant carried the prefix 'Mc'.

''It would have been different if McCurry Restaurant had offered to its customers, items that were labelled either the same as or similar to those sold by McDonald's, for example McFish or McLamb," he said.

He also noted that the food served at McCurry was typically Indian food, national news agency Bernama said.

Mc Curry Restaurant had gone on appeal against a High Court order in September 2006, which held that the McDonald's fast food chain had the exclusive right to the prefix `Mc.' The High Court had also ordered McCurry Restaurant at Kuala Lumpur to pay damages to McDonald's Corporation, the proprietor of the McDonald's chain of restaurants.

McCurry Restaurant, in its defence, contended that McDonald's could not claim exclusive rights to the use of the prefix `Mc', as that was used around the world, mainly by people of Scottish origin.

McCurry Restaurant said it essentially served Malaysian and Indian cuisine consisting of Roti Chennai, Briyani, Fish curry, Chicken Tandoori, Naan, Dosa, Chappati and chicken and mutton curries and none of the burgers and French fries of McDonald's.