McDonald's Kesal Dijiplak Malaysia

Indonesian Version:

INILAH.COM, Kuala Lumpur – Selama delapan tahun terakhir, jaringan fast food raksasa McDonald’s bertarung secara hukum melawan McCurry. Mereka meributkan masalah hak cipta restoran Malaysia itu, yang dianggap mencuri ciri khas McDonald’s. Walah!

Pertempuran itu berlanjut ke pengadilan tertinggi Malaysia pada Senin (7/9), menyusul putusan pada 29 April lalu bahwa McCurry sama sekali tak meniru McDonald’s. Pihak Malaysia ngotot restoran mereka kepanjangan dari ‘Malaysian Chicken Curry’ serta menyediakan berbagai menu kari khas negara itu.

“Saya yakin ribut-ribut ini hanya masalah nama restoran dan papan iklannya saja,” ujar pemilik McCurry, P Suppiah kepada Reuters. Ia pun siap meladeni tuntutan McDonald’s yang memiliki 185 outlet di Malaysia, meski dirinya memiliki satu outlet saja di Kuala Lumpur.

Sementara pemegang hak franchise McDonald’s adalah seorang pebisnis bernama Vincent Tan. Dalam pernyataan e-mail, pihak McD berkata akan terus mempertahankan trademark mereka di mana saja di dunia dan kasus ini bukan perkecualian bagi mereka. [vin]

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English Version:

PUTRAJAYA: US fast food giant McDonald’s lost an eight-year trademark battle to prevent local restaurant
McCurry from using the ‘Mc’ prefix in a precedent-setting judgment by Malaysia’s highest court.

The Federal Court ruled Tuesday that McDonald’s cannot appeal against another court’s verdict that had allowed McCurry to use ‘Mc’ in its name. The owner says McCurry, which serves Indian food, is an abbreviation for Malaysian Chicken Curry.

The ruling by a three-member panel of the Federal Court ends all legal avenues for McDonald’s to protect its name from what it said was a trademark infringement.

“On the basis of unanimous decision, our view is that” McDonald’s plea to carry the case forward has no merit, said chief judge Arifin Zakaria. “It is unfortunate that we have to dismiss the application with costs,” he said.

McDonald’s will have to pay RM10,000 to McCurry, a popular eatery in Jalan Ipoh on the edge of Kuala Lumpur’s downtown. McDonald’s lawyers refused to comment, except to say the company will abide by the judgment.

McCurry lawyer Sri Devi Nair said the ruling means McDonald’s does not 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.

“This is a precedent for everyone to follow,” he said.

A three-member Appeal Court panel had ruled in favour of McCurry Restaurant in April this year when it overturned a 2006 high court ruling that had upheld McDonald’s contention.

Arifin said McDonald’s lawyers were unable to point out faults in the Appeal Court judgment, which had said there was no evidence to show that McCurry was passing off McDonald’s business as its own. The Appeals Court also said McDonald’s cannot claim an exclusive right to the ‘Mc’ prefix in the country.

McDonald’s asked the Federal Court for permission to appeal against that decision but was denied Tuesday.

“We are very much relieved. We hope to expand. This is what we wanted to do from the beginning and we were stalled for eight years,” said A.M.S.P. Suppiah, the owner of McCurry.

“I am so happy ... we have nothing in similarity with them at all. That’s how we have felt all this while,” said his wife, Kanageswary Suppiah.

The Appeal Court said McCurry’s signboard has white and grey letters against a red background with a picture of a smiling chicken giving a double thumbs-up, in contrast to McDonald’s red and yellow “M” logo. McCurry also serves only Indian food, not competing with McDonald’s Western menu, the court said.

McDonald’s began operations in Malaysia in 1982 and has 137 outlets in the country. -- AP

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