When 19-year old Boston University student Lauren McClusky decided to organize a charitable event to raise money for the Special Olympics, the last thing she was probably expecting was to be sued by the world’s largest fast food hamburger chain. But that’s exactly what happened. Ms. McClusky decided to name her event McFest (you know, McClusky … McFest), and McDonald’s took umbrage. Apparently McDonald’s believes they have a monopoly on the popular surname prefix Mc, not just for hamburgers, not even just for fast food, but for any and all uses regardless of how unrelated to selling hamburgers, like raising money for the Special Olympics through a music festival.
Normally, a trademark owner can only claim exclusive rights to a brand name as it relates to the products and services that it sells. Special rights are given to “famous marks” in that the owner of a famous mark does not have to prove likelihood of confusion, which makes it far easier for a trademark owner of a famous mark to prevent others from trying to ride the coat tails of its fame. However, McDonald’s seems to be taking it one step further by trying to prevent anyone with the surname prefix Mc from using their own name to inspire their own brand names.
I imagine the $10,000 Ms. McClusky’s event raised for the Special Olympics will pale in comparison to the amount it will cost her to defend herself against the hamburger giant.
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