Bloggasm

It turns out that McDonald’s has trademarked the “Mc” prefix for any product or organization, and not only sues when a food company uses it (which is reasonable) but when non-food organizations use it as well (complete bullshit).

Malcolm McBratney was a rugby player who used the term “McBrat” on his team shorts, and for some reason McDonald’s decided they needed to sue for trademark infringement. They lost:

AN intellectual property lawyer has won a David and Goliath battle against fast food giant McDonald’s for the right to use the name McBrat on his rugby team’s shorts.

Malcolm McBratney, a partner in Brisbane legal firm McCullough Robertson, said McDonald’s, had been using “bully boy” tactics in seeking to prevent the Brisbane Irish team from using the name “McBrat”.

The ruling was mailed to Mr McBratney by the Australian Trademarks Office in Canberra, following a hearing in April this year when McDonald’s objected to the Brisbane lawyer’s trade mark application.

I understand that companies enforce their trademarks in the fear that they’ll become widely misused if they let a few cases go by unnoticed, but sueing a Rugby team in Australia for using a “Mc” prefix, especially when it’s obviously referencing one of the player’s names? C,mon.