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21/09/04 . by Unknown . The Scotsman . International
Noodles firm is lovin' it as McDonalds loses trademark battle
THE United States fast-food giant McDonald's yesterday lost a legal battle in Singapore to stop a food company from distributing products named "MacNoodles", "MacTea" and "MacChocolate".
The world¹s largest fast-food company said Singapore-based Future Enterprises had copied McDonald¹s trademarks when registering its products in 1995.
The High Court in Singapore had dismissed the case in April but McDonald¹s appealed.
However, the court again ruled against the US company yesterday, saying that the Singapore products could not be confused with those of the fast-food chain.
"McDonald¹s has spent millions to create goodwill and instant public recognition for its ŒMc¹ series of marks," said Davinder Singh, a high-profile Singapore lawyer who represented McDonald¹s, before the judge ruled against the American chain.
The latest legal verdict ends a long courtroom battle over intellectual property rights and anti-monopoly laws, and comes as Singapore positions itself as a bastion of intellectual property protection in Asia in an aggressive attempt to attract foreign investment to the country.
As part of a United States- Singapore free trade agreement that took effect in January, the wealthy city-state¹s intellectual property laws were harmonised with those of the US.
Lawyers for Future Enterprises had argued that "MacNoodles", "MacTea" and "MacChocolate" bore no similarity to the products of McDonald¹s. The Singapore products are packaged with an eagle logo and distributed in supermarkets and convenience stores.
"There can be no likelihood of confusion or deception," said the company¹s lawyer, Tan Tee Jim. "The marks are different in appearance, sound and concept,"
McDonald¹s golden arches are recognised across the world.
The company has restaurants in 119 countries and serves nearly 50 million customers a day in more than 30,000 outlets.
In Singapore, it has 129 restaurants.
But despite its dominance, McDonald¹s has launched several legal battles over the years to try to protect its brand name and to stop other companies using the "Mc" prefix.
This article:
news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1105872004
McDonald's fast food:
news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=378
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www.mcdonalds.com
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