Singapore's High Court has ruled that a Singapore firm's instant coffee mix brand is similar to the "McCafe" name operated by US fast food giant McDonald's Corporation and so rejected an attempt to register "MacCoffee" as a trademark.
SINGAPORE: Will that be MacCoffee or McCafe?
Singapore's High Court has ruled that a Singapore firm's instant coffee mix brand is similar to the "McCafe" name operated by US fast food giant McDonald's Corporation and so rejected an attempt to register "MacCoffee" as a trademark.
In a judgment obtained by AFP on Thursday, Justice Tay Yong Kwang denied Future Enterprises Pte Ltd's appeal of a decision by the Principal Assistant Registrar of Trade Marks (PAR) who had allowed McDonald's opposition to registration of the "MacCoffee" name.
Future Enterprises is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-listed Food Empire Holdings Ltd. The company website says MacCoffee is their best-selling product, a three-in-one mix "recognised as a leading instant coffee brand" in several key markets including Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
McCafe outlets are coffee shops operated by US fast food giant McDonald's.
The first McCafe outlet opened in Singapore in 2003, the same year Future Enterprises applied to register "MacCoffee" as a trademark.
"Taken as a whole, the two (trade) marks do sound remarkably similar," Tay said in his written judgment.
The judge agreed with the PAR that "the basic product in both cases is coffee" and that members of the public would likely be confused.
"Taking into account all the circumstances of the case, I am of the view that there is a likelihood of confusion as the marks are visually, aurally and conceptually similar and the goods are similar," Tay wrote.
"The appeal therefore failed on all counts and was accordingly dismissed," he said, ordering Future Enterprises to pay 10,000 Singapore dollars (6,300 US) in costs to McDonald's.
The Business Times reported that the court's decision, which Future Enterprises has appealed, only affects use of the product name in Singapore and not abroad.
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