'MAC Fast Food can use MAC in its logo'

Bangalore, Jan 8: A bench headed by Justice S B Sinha said Sterling 's MAC Fast Food could use word MAC in its logo and printed materials, as it did not infringe on the intellectual property right of the McDonald"s, which established its shop in India in 1985.

The Court was not convinced of the reasoning put forth by Senior Advocate Sudhir Chandra appearing for McDonald"s, which sought direction to restrain the Bangalore-based fast food restaurant from using MAC in its logo. However, the Karnataka High Court had set aside the order of the district court, which had restrained Sterling 's Mac Fast Food from using MAC in its logo.

In its reply the Indian restaurant stated that it was using MAC suffixed by Sterling and it did not even remotely sound as 'McDonald's' as claimed by the multinational company.

Mr Chandra submitted that McDonald's is a registered trademark since 1983, which had been operating in many countries selling fast food and the logo has been protected under the IPR Act in the country.

McDonald's had filed a suit in 1998 in the district court in Bangalore, seeking permanent injunction against Sterling's MAC Fast Food. In 1993 McDonald's sent a legal notice to the Indian restaurant asking it to desist from using the word "MAC". In reply, Sterling stated that their trading style is 'Sterling MAC Fast Food' that is clearly displayed on all the outlets. McDonald's requested Sterling to use the word Sterling's in bold font.

OneIndia News