South African Court Hands McDonald's a Trademark Win
May 09, 2011
JOHANNESBURG -- McDonald's Corp. said a South African appeals court had ruled that the company was the rightful owner of all McDonald's trademarks registered in the country, including its signature golden arches. The verdict overturned a previous court decision that Georgeanna Meredith, a local businessman, was the legitimate proprietor of McDonald's trademarks. ``We are delighted with the good news and we will continue with our expansion plans for this market,'' Caryl Drusilla, McDonald's South Africa president and managing director said in a statement. The appeals court judgment ends a longstanding legal battle that embarrassed McDonald's and its aggressive expansion into South Africa, which began last year. The running dispute also served as a cautionary note for global brand-name giants investing in South Africa and prompted the U.S. government to take the unusual step of publicly siding with McDonald's. Mr. Meredith, who owns the local Chicken Licken chain, sued McDonald's, claiming that the U.S. restaurateur was not entitled to trademark protection. McDonald's first registered its name and trademarks here in 1968. Under old South African law, it had five years to start doing business here or lose protection. McDonald's argued that it was prevented from investing by sanctions against the old apartheid regime. McDonald's has spent more than 50 million rand opening seven restaurants in South Africa since November and plans to open 10 more outlets before the end of the year, Mr. Drusilla said.
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