[p2p-research] Fwd: WSJ reports McDonald's loses to McCurry

[Michel Bauwens]

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From: Frederick [FN] Noronha * फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या <fredericknoronha at gmail.com
>
Date: 2009/9/9
Subject: WSJ reports McDonald's loses to McCurry
To: asia-commons <asia-commons at googlegroups.com>



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125240245264591953.html

ASIA NEWS
SEPTEMBER 8, 2009, 9:21 A.M. ET

McDonald's Loses Legal Battle With Malaysia's McCurry

By JAMES HOOKWAY

American fast food giant McDonald's Corp. on Tuesday lost an
eight-year battle to prevent a family-run Kuala Lumpur restaurant from
calling itself "McCurry" after Malaysia's top court said the
Indian-food joint could use the prefix "Mc" in its name.
A McCurry lawyer, Sri Dev Nair, said the ruling means McDonald's
doesn't 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. McDonald's officials couldn't immediately be reached for
comment, but the Associated Press reported the company's counsel as
saying it will abide by the judgment.
View Full Image
Associated Press

McCurry restaurant owner P. Suppiah and his wife Kanageswary celebrate
a court victory over McDonald's.

Meanwhile, the owner of McCurry says he is 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.

"We definitely want to bring our vision to a broader clientele," P.
Suppiah, 45 years old, said in a telephone interview, noting that the
legal controversy could provide his fledgling empire a timely boost
and draw in potential partners and franchisees. "We're even looking at
opening international franchises," he said.
McCurry's struggle to be known as McCurry has become a cause celebre
in Malaysia in recent years. Established in 1999, the restaurant
adopted a Western-style fast-food ambience to serve traditional Indian
and Malaysian dishes, such as fish-head curry.
"We chose an international-sounding name to attract as many customers
as possible," said Mr. Suppiah, who trained as an accountant in New
Zealand before entering the restaurant business. McCurry, he said, is
shorthand for "Malaysian chicken curry," and the restaurant's logo
displays a bright-yellow chicken giving a thumbs-up sign.
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, however, saw McCurry as a legal threat. Lawyers for the
U.S. company, which has 185 outlets in Malaysia, saw the "Mc" prefix
in the McCurry name as a breach of trademark. They first sued McCurry
for trademark infringement in 2001 and a high court ruled in favor of
the international chain in 2006.
McCurry appealed, and the Court of Appeal ruled in the Malaysian
restaurant's favor in April this year, pointing out that McCurry
serves curry, not burgers.
McDonald's then took the matter to Malaysia's Federal Court, which on
Tuesday ruled that McDonald's can't appeal against the lower court
verdict. It ordered McDonald's to pay 10,000 Malaysian ringgit, or
$2,900, in costs.
Write to James Hookway at james.hookway at wsj.com

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