Beloved Melbourne pub and music venue The Corner Hotel has taken legal action against fast-food giant McDonald’s, over the company’s Corner McCafé establishment in Sydney.
The Corner Hotel’s parent company, Swancom, has lodged a claim with the Federal Court claiming that McDonald’s has breached its trademark, as News Corp Australia reports.
The Corner Hotel first registered its “Corner” trademark in relation to the “provision of food and drink, cocktail lounge, bar, cafe, snack bar and restaurant services; catering services; hospitality services” in 2011, before registering a second trademark for “The Corner” in 2015.
The experimental McDonald’s venue The Corner opening in Camperdown in 2014, complete with a traditional cafe-style aesthetic. McDonald’s Asia-Pacific has also reportedly applied to register its own The Corner logo, which Swancom claims is too similar to its existing trademarks.
While Corner McCafé continues to trade, Swancom has reportedly asked the Federal Court for an injunction banning McDonald’s from using The Corner name or logo, and is also seeking unspecified damages, interest and costs.
Representatives for The Corner Hotel declined to comment to Music Feeds, but a McDonald’s spokesperson told News Corp Australia, “We do take these matters very seriously, but we can’t comment on litigation.”
Elsewhere, Melbourne pub The Reverence Hotel (AKA The Rev) was recently threatened with legal action over its use of the term ‘taco Tuesday’, because this is the world we live in now.
