McDonald's vs. McCurry heads for Malaysia court again

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - An eight-year legal battle between fast food giant McDonald's and a Malaysian restaurant called McCurry over copyright infringement is set to continue on Monday in the country's highest court.

McDonald's, which has 185 outlets in Malaysia, is appealing against the decision made on April 29 that its trademark had not been infringed upon by the local restaurant, which has one outlet in the Southeast Asian country's capital of Kuala Lumpur.

McCurry serves Malaysian staples such as fish head curry and is short for "Malaysian Chicken Curry," according to the company website (www.mccurryrecipe.com).

"The whole issue is about the name of my restaurant on the signboard," McCurry owner, P. Suppiah told Reuters on Friday.

Monday's hearing in the federal court will determine if the

case goes to another trial.

The McDonald's operation in this country of 27 million people is run as a franchise by prominent businessman Vincent Tan.

"McDonald's vigorously defends its trademarks against violations anywhere in the world. This particular case is no different," McDonald's Asia corporate relations vice president, Liam Jeory, said in an emailed statement.

(Reporting by Royce Cheah; Editing by Bill Tarrant)