Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's highest court on Tuesday ruled against US fast-food giant McDonald's Corp in its eight-year trademark battle against a local restaurant named McCurry, a news report said Tuesday. In 2001, McDonald's began a legal battle against the restaurant, which sells southern and northern Indian dishes in the capital Kuala Lumpur, after claiming that the usage of the prefix "Mc" in its name was infringing on the fast-food chain's image.
On Tuesday, the Federal Court's three-man panel unanimously concluded that McCurry held the right to use the "Mc" in its name, and ordered McDonald's to pay 10,000 ringgit (2,702 dollars) in costs to McCurry.
"After eight long years, its a real relief. It's put an end to the whole uncertainty and mental stress," McCurry Restaurant owner Kanages Suppiah told the German Press Agency dpa.
Kanages said she would appeal for a higher amount to be awarded by the court, but right now was content with the final ruling.
"The amount of money, obviously, does not cover the amount of stress we have had to endure these years.
"But apart from the money, the thought of not having this any longer, its worth a million," she said.
In April, the court of appeal overturned a 2006 High Court ruling that McCurry's name was illegally infringing on the fast-food giant's trademark prefix "Mc."
That court ruled that McCurry Restaurant did not have any other association with McDonald's, saying its signage and menu had no link with the fast-food company. McDonald's appealed the verdict to the Federal Court.
The McCurry restaurant contended that McDonald's could not claim a monopoly or exclusive rights to the use of "Mc" because the prefix was extensively used around the world in surnames.
McDonald's has more than 180 outlets in Malaysia, the first of which opened in 1982.
