18CN82 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND IPR

Assignment presentation –Semester II

07.08.2021

Presented by
S. Pushpa (20mk06),
M.E Infrastructure Engineering,
Department of Civil Engineering,
PSG College of Technology.
 OVERVIEW

Introduction

History

Trademark and slogan

Mc Donald’s trademark evolution

McDonald’s Slogans Over Time

Some products of Mc Donald’s

Other competitors

Competitive advantages

Current strategy of MC Donald’s

McDonald's patents

Some IPR based cases of MCDONALD’S
Conclusion
 INTRODUCTION

McDonald's is the world's largest restaurant chain by revenue, serving over 69 million

customers daily in over 100 countries across 37,855 outlets as of 2018.
Although McDonald's is best known for its hamburgers, cheeseburgers and french fries, they
feature chicken products, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, wraps, and desserts. In
response to changing consumer tastes and a negative backlash because of the unhealthiness of
their food , the company has added to its menu salads, fish, smoothies, and fruit.
 The McDonald's Corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the
franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants.
 According to two reports published in 2018, McDonald's is the world's second-largest private
employer with 1.7 million employees (behind Walmart with 2.3 million employees).
 As of 2020, McDonald's has the ninth-highest global brand valuation.
 HISTORY

McDonald's Corporation is an American fast food company, founded in

1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in 
San Bernardino, California, United States.

They rechristened their business as a hamburger stand, and later turned the

company into a franchise, with the Golden Arches logo being introduced in
1953 at a location in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 1955, Ray Kroc, a businessman, joined the company as a franchise agent

and proceeded to purchase the chain from the McDonald brothers.
McDonald's had its previous headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, but
moved its global headquarters to Chicago in June 2018
 TRADEMARK AND SLOGAN
Inspired by the iconic architectural arches flanking each restaurant,
Jim Schindler designed the first iteration of the enduring Golden
Arches logo.
In 1952 the McDonald brothers asked architect Stanley Meston to
design their first franchised outlet. According to architect Alan Hess,
the initial idea for the golden arches came from a stylised sketch of
two half-circle arches, drawn by Richard.
 The brothers brought in a sign-maker, George Dexter, to design two
giant yellow arches that were added to both sides of the building.
 Viewed from a certain angle, the arches formed the letter 'M'. However,
it wasn't until Ray Kroc bought the business in 1961 that the distinctive
architecture was incorporated into a new corporate logo.
MC DONALD’S TRADEMARK EVOLUTION
 MCDONALD’S SLOGANS OVER TIME
 1961 – Look for the Golden Arches

 1967 – McDonald’s is your kind of place

 1971 – You deserve a break today

 1975 – We do it all for you

 1976 – You, you’re the one

 1983 – McDonald’s and you

 1984 – It’s a good time for the great taste of McDonald’s

 1985 – It’s Mac Tonight

 Late 1980s – There’s nothing quite like a McDonald’s

• 1990 – Food, folks and fun”

 1992 – What you want is what you get

 1993 – Do you believe in magic?

 1997 – My Mc Donald’s

 2000 – Put a smile on

 2002 – Every time a good time

 2003 – I’m Lovin’ it 

 2015 – The Simpler the Better 

 2017 – I’m Lovin’ It

SOME PRODUCTS OF MC DONALD’S
HOW DO MC DONALD’S REACH EVERY CORNER OF
THE WORLD
OTHER COMPETITORS
 COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Striving to be cost leaders – Prices cannot be matched by competitors

The speedy delivery of food

Strong global presence and largest market share in fast food

Net competitive Advantage

 CURRENT STRATEGY OF MC DONALD’S

Low cost strategies to compete with competitors

Cutting cost

Operating more Outlets

Focusing on plans to win

 MCDONALD'S ‐ PATENTS, TRADEMARKS AND DESIGNS

 McDonald's ‐ the most dominant player in the fast food industry ‐ is protected by a bundle of trademarks, a
smattering of patents and a sprinkling of designs..
 don't think of using:
Happy Meal
Extra Value Meal
Super Size
World Famous Fries (unless you actually have world famous fries)
I'm Lovin’ it
 or anything including "Mc" / "Mac":
Big Mac; Mac Attack; McWorld; Chicken Mc Grill; Chicken McNuggets; Egg McMuffin; McChicken; Mc Grilled
Chicken; McNuggets; Sausage McMuffin; and Mc Caffe.
 MCDONALD'S PATENTS

McDonald's patents relate to its:

 methods of preparing / cooking food;
 packaging; and
 equipment used in cooking food.
The patents do not cover specific recipes or food items (e.g. the Big Mac burger).
 MCDONALD'S PATENTS
Methods of preparing patents:
WO2006068865 "Method for making a sandwich":
 Heat bread
 Simultaneously assemble garnish in a container
 Place the heated bread over the garnish-filled container
 Invert the bread and container to deposit the garnish on the bread
 MCDONALD'S PATENTS
Methods of preparing patents:
US4433001 "Method for preparing scrambled eggs":
 Pour liquid egg into rings supported on a heated grill
 Rapidly move the rings to and fro while maintaining contact between the rings and the grill
 Repeat the movement until the eggs have congealed into a mass of cooked scrambled egg
 MCDONALD'S PATENTS
Mc Donald’s Packaging patents:

US4653685 "Dual compartment foamed polystyrene sandwich package" having:


a base defining two compartments;

a cover;

a central stiffening rib separating the two compartments; and

four cooperating slots and tabs for securing the cover to the base.

US4061241 "Food plate package" having:


a bottom plate;

a convex‐oval top cover;

raised support ribs integrally formed in the cover; and

vent channels between the support ribs.
 MCDONALD'S PATENTS
Equipment patents:

 coffee urn
 SOME IPR BASED CASES OF MCDONALD’S
Mc Donald’s VS Mac Joy (Philippines)

 In 2004, McDonald's sued Cebu-based fast food restaurant Mac Joy for using a very similar trade name. In its
defense, Mac Joy insisted that it was the first user of the mark under the title "MACJOY & DEVICE" for its
business in Cebu City which started in 1987, whereas McDonald's only opened its first outlet in the same city
in 1992, although it had used the name in Manila since 1971.
 Mac Joy stated that the requirement of “actual use” in commerce in the Philippines before one may register a
trademark pertains to the territorial jurisdiction on a national scale and is not merely confined to a certain
locality or region.
 It added that "Mac Joy" is a term of endearment for the owner's niece whose name is Scarlett Yu Carcel. In
response, McDonald's claimed that there was no connection with the name Scarlett Yu Carcel to merit the
coinage of the word "Mac Joy" and that the only logical conclusion over the name is to help the Cebu
restaurant ride high on their (McDonald's) established reputation.
 In February 2007, the Philippine Supreme Court upheld the right of McDonald's over its registered and
internationally recognized trademarks.[10] As a result, the owners of Mac Joy, the Espina family, was forced to
change its trademark into My Joy, which went into effect with the re-opening of its two branches in Cebu City
on August that year.
 SOME IPR BASED CASES OF MCDONALD’S
Mc Donald’s VS McCurry (Malaysia)

 In 2001, McDonald's sued a small restaurant named McCurry, a popular eatery serving Indian food in 
Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. McDonald's claimed that the use of the "Mc" prefix infringed its
trademark, while the defendant claimed that McCurry stood for Malaysian Chicken Curry.
 In 2006, McDonald's won an initial judgment in the High Court. The judge ruled that the prefix Mc and the
use of colours distinctive of the McDonald's brand could confuse and deceive customers.
 In April 2009, however, a three-member Appeal Court panel overturned the verdict, saying that there was no
evidence to show that McCurry was passing off its own product as that of McDonald's. The Appeals Court
also said that McDonald's cannot claim an exclusive right to the "Mc" prefix in the country.
 McDonald's appealed the decision to the Federal Court, the highest court in Malaysia. In September 2009, the
Federal Court upheld the Appeal Court's decision. McDonald's appeal was dismissed with costs, and the
company was ordered to pay RM10,000 to McCurry.
 SOME IPR BASED CASES OF MCDONALD’S

Mc Donald’s VS Mc Sleep (Quality Inns International)

 In 1988, Quality Inns (now Choice Hotels) was planning to open a new chain of economy hotels under
the name "Mc Sleep." After McDonald's demanded that Quality Inns not use the name because it
infringed, the hotel company filed a suit in federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that "Mc
Sleep" did not infringe.
 McDonald's counterclaimed, alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition. Linguist Roger
Shuy testified for Quality Inn, that "the Mc prefix had become part of everyday English"; 
David Lightfoot argued for McDonald's that in all those cases these meanings "were characteristics of
McDonald's and its reputation".
 Eventually, McDonald's prevailed. The court's opinion noted that the prefix "Mc" added to a generic
word has acquired secondary meaning, so that in the eyes of the public it means McDonald's, and
therefore the name "Mc Sleep" would infringe on McDonald's trademarks
 SOME IPR BASED CASES OF MCDONALD’S
• Mc Donald’s VS Mc Coffee (US)

 In 1994, McDonald's successfully forced Elizabeth McCaughey of the San Francisco Bay Area to change the
trading name of her coffee shop Mc Coffee, which had operated under that name for 17 years.
 "This is the moment I surrendered the little 'c' to corporate America," said Elizabeth McCaughey, who had
named it as an adaptation of her surname.
 THE MCDONALD'S 'BEEF FRIES' CONTROVERSY

 In May 2001, a class action lawsuit1 was filed against the world's largest fast-food chain
McDonald's, in Seattle, US. The lawsuit alleged that the company had, for over a decade,
duped vegetarian customers into eating French fries2 that contained beef extracts.
 The lawsuit followed a spate of media reports detailing how the French fries served at
McDonald's were falsely promoted as being '100% vegetarian.’
 Although McDonald's initially declined to comment on the issue, the company issued a
'conditional apology,' admitting to using beef flavoring in the fries.
 The furore over the matter seemed to be settling down, when to McDonald's horror, some of
its restaurants in India were vandalized. Activists of Hindu fundamentalist groups - the Shiv
Sena, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal, staged a demonstration in
front of the McDonald's head office in Delhi protesting the alleged use of beef flavouring....
 CONCLUSION

McDonald's is one of the largest fast food companies in the world.

They continue their path for success by keeping their consumers in

mind regarding their product selection as well as their prices.

They encourage their employees to do a good job, usually promotes

from within, and offers several scholarships to encourage education.

The last half of the twentieth century witnessed the development of

many fast food chains. None were as successful as McDonald’s at
maximizing profit and minimizing cost.
 REFERENCES

https://www.coursehero.com/file/82415490/McDonalds-Process-Patentpdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's_legal_cases
www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Ethics/BECG017.htm
https://www.slideshare.net/rakesh9334/mc-donalds-ppt-14053062
THANK YOU