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McCurry wins legal row with McDonald's

Fast food giant McDonald's has lost an eight-year trademark battle against the Malaysian restaurant McCurry.

user iconThe New Lawyer 09 September 2009 The Bar
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MCDONALD'S has lost an eight-year trademark battle against the Malaysian restaurant McCurry, which serves Indian food. 


The Malaysian Federal Court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday ruled McDonald's cannot appeal against the Appeal Court verdict in April that allowed McCurry to use the "Mc" in its name. 

 
 


The owner of McCurry insists its "Mc" prefix is an abbreviation for Malaysian Chicken Curry. 


The ruling puts an end to all legal avenues for the fast-food giant to fight what it was labelling a trademark infringement. 


The Appeal Court had previously said there was no evidence to show that McCurry was attempting to pass off McDonald's business on its own. 


McDonald's, which has more than 180 outlets in Malaysia, first sued the McCurry restaurant in 2001. A High Court ruled in favour of the mega fast food chain in 2006, but then McCurry took the case to the Court of Appeal, which overturned the ruling. 


"We feel great that this eight-year legal battle is finally over," McCurry owner P Suppiah told reporters. 


"We can now go ahead with whatever we plan to do such as opening new branches," he said. 


Lawyers for McDonald's told the Associated Press news agency that the company accepted the judgement. 


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