In the battle of brands, repute and mileage, the grapple is
often between MNCs and smaller local players, the latter often
find themselves buried under the brawl of an established brand
name. Wriggling out of such a situation is Sterling's
Mac Fast Food in the decision of McDonald's
Corporation v. Sterling 's Mac Fast Food. [2008
(37)PTC 247]
McDonald's adopted the trademark "BIG MAC"
for the first time in 1968 in USA. In India, they got
registered their marks BIG MAC, McDonald's as well as
their corporate logo 'M'. According to them,
the word "BIG" was registered on the condition that
the same would not append exclusivity, while "MAC"
was allowed to be put to exclusive use by them. They were the
owner of several marks incorporating Mc/MAC as the suffix or
prefix. The usage of the mark "MAC" as a prefix by
Sterling's Mac Fast Food, came to their notice and they
alleged a mala fide intention to
