McDonald's Responds to Complaint of Bullying Charity Teens

[Raejeanowl]

Mods, please allow this update to be re-posted. I am trying to avoid having the new information on McDonald's position and where to comment and/or complain disappear below the horizon in the original weekend thread, and to ensure the maximum number of DUers are aware of this outrageous David and Goliath case.

The original post with all its links is here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7563114

The short version is that McD's is throwing their legal mu$cle into challenging Chicago teens who have been running a successful annual grass-roots fundraiser for the Special Olympics because they had the audacity to use "Mc" in the name of their event and sought to make it official..

Still stymied? McDonald's apparently believes they OWN "Mc", or that their fast food (and I use the term loosely) empire claim on it supersedes the rights of anyone with a Scottish or Scots-Irish surname to use it for any other purpose. Likelier still, they wish they'd thought of using it themselves, sooner!

This is the reply they sent in response to my own criticisms:

Hello Raejean:


Thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald's. We would llike (sic) to take this opportunity to share some information with you.

Regarding this matter, McDonald's has no desire to prevent this event from taking place. That is not our intent. However, the law requires us to guard against third parties that infringe our trademarks and to take the necessary action to stop those infringements.

We believe the mark at issue, "McFest," is similar enough to our brand name and McDonald's famous family of "Mc" trademarks that it's likely to cause confusion under trademark standards and/or dilute our valuable trademark rights

We hope to reach an amicable resolution with the organizers to resolve this matter so they can continue to run their event. Because this is a pending legal matter, it would be inappropriate to further comment or speculate.

Jamie
McDonald's Customer Response Center

ref#:6614406

If you are as offended by this as I am, and find the argument of likely "brand confusion" between a local high school/college band festival charity event and a worldwide purveyor of food-borne chronic illness to be totally specious, please let them know. Better yet, let all your contacts know!

http://www1.mcdonalds.com/contactus/navigate.do?link=mc...

[freeplessinseattle]

1. but they're ok with Drs. "McSteamy" and "McCreamy"

of Grey's Anatomy and the now defunct ER. The shows may have had to get official permission, but did McD's not know or care that "McCreamy" would have certain blatant sexually suggestive connotations? I guess whatever is best for sales.

[northzax]

10. And mcdonalds was fine with the event

After all, it went on for three years. Their objection is to the applications by McFest, LLC to trademark that name. Anyone can file an objection to a trademark application. The company (hm, why isn't it a 501(c)3 instead of a for profit LLC?) is spending the money to fight for a trademark to prevent others from using it. McD's is fighting to keep the term open. Why is a small, supposedly charitible for-profit company spending money on a trademark fight?

[piratefish08]

2. Dear McDouchebag Execs,

Why don't you McFuck Off?

Enjoy your petty bullshit.

I'm off to Burger King now just to spite you.

I'm not even hungry - I'l give my Whopper away.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

9. Apropos of this, Burger King just started opening restaurants in Rio.

Whoppers kick the ever-living crap out of anything McDonald's has to offer. The only barely pleasant thing McD has is the Big Tasty, and it is so by virtue of being as similar to the Whopper as possible.

[Dennis Donovan]

3. If I were the teens, I'd drop the "Mc" from the event...

...not because of any copyright issues with McDonalds, but because McDonalds has tainted "Mc" so it now is used to insinuate anything with a "Mc" prefix is of low quality (i.e. 'McMansion', et al).

[NYC_SKP]

6. Sets the wrong precident. That corporations can bully us around like that... And...

sets the stage for infringement suits in similar cases.

I think we need to help them, maybe some pro-bono work will be done.

Fuck McDonalds claiming McEverything.

[Tansy_Gold]

4. I dislike McDonalds to begin with.

What I sent:

Let the kids have their charity McFest and stop being jerks about it. I'm of Scottish descent, Clan Gordon from Fyvie Parish near Aberdeen, and I don't know of anyone who owns the rights to all the words beginning with Mc. You sure don't. And given the quality (?) of some of the products you've attached Mc to, maybe we Scots oughta sue you. McNuggets? McCheese? Eeeeeiuw.






Tansy Gold

[tanyev]

5. McAsshats.

[Javaman]

7. once again the morons over at mcdonalds miss a colossal chance to

improve their image. Rather than helping, they attack. Well played mcd's, well played.

[TexasObserver]

8. In memory of their founder, Ray Crock of Shit.

[niyad]

11. ....

[brettdale]

12. kick

kick