McDonalds v.McCurry legal case

You may google the topic “McDonalds v.McCurry legal case” or take a look at the articles below. Be careful to check the dates of the article. This case has been going on for about nine years! You can still answer the questions listed below.

• McDonald’s loses trademark fight against McCurry ( from Seattle Times) (If the link above is broken, please try the same article from San Diego Union-Tribune and let the instructor know)

• McDonald’s wins EU ‘Mac’ trademark case

• McDonald’s wins EU ‘Mac’ ruling

• McCurry, the restaurant that defied the Big Mac wins eight-year battle

Discuss intellectual property law (more specifically, trademark law) as it applies to McDonald’s litigation against the Malaysian restaurant “McCurry” and answer the following question:

• In your reasoned legal opinion, was the Malaysian federal court’s dismissal of McDonald’s lawsuit against McCurry a sound decision? Why or why not?
• Visit http://mccurryrecipe.com/ and carefully examine the McCurry restaurant sign (Pictures and videos of the McCurry restaurant sign are available via the “About McCurry” section of the web site.) Compare the McCurry restaurant sign to the ubiquitous McDonald’s sign. Based on your comparison of the two signs, has McCurry committed a trademark violation?
• Why or why not? Should McDonald’s have an exclusive right to the “Mc” prefix? Why or why not?
• According to the web site http://www.mcdonalds.ca/en/aboutus/faq.aspx, McDonald’s is an enormous multinational corporation, operating over 31,000 restaurants in more than 119 countries on six (6) continents. In your opinion, why would McDonald’s choose to engage in a protracted (eight-year) legal battle with a relatively small Malaysian restaurant operating only 137 outlets solely in Malaysia?