McDonald’s forced this restaurant to change its name

Mo' Ramyun formerly McRamyun
Mo' Ramyun formerly McRamyun

McDonald’s really wants everyone know that combining “Mc” with food is not going to go down well with them. Just ask Connie and Harry Kim, the owners of a Korean restaurant in Toronto, Canada.

Advertisment

Story continues below

blogTO reports intellectual property lawyers approached the owners the of McRamyun (now Mo’Ramyun) soon after they opened their establishment earlier this spring. In their case, the “Mc” prefix referred to a Korean word that means “pulse” or “spirit” and wasn’t used in any way to associate their business with the fast food giant.

McDonald’s didn’t see it that way.

The owner’s daughter sent a statement to blogTO with details on what was contained in a letter the family received from McDonald’s legal representatives.

“Basically, the legal representatives of McDonald’s sent us a letter back in May saying they own the trademark of the prefix “Mc” and “Mac” before any food item.”

The family agreed to drop “Mc” from all public signage and facing documents. But due to the high costs associated with changing the registered business name, they wanted the registered name to remain unchanged.

As it turns out, it was an expensive lesson for owners Connie and Harry. blogTO reports the family received another letter with deadlines to change both the signage and the registered name.

The lesson? Don’t even McThink about it.