In recent times, businesses associated with food and restaurants have hit national and international headlines. Here in Malaysia, there was the Sri Paandi vs Sri Paandi fight, then the famous McDonald’s vs McCurry battle, and more recently, our spat with Singapore and Indonesia on the origins of certain dishes. Visit online https://searchchandigarh.com/for more details , It would seem that Malaysians are finally realizing that the restaurant business is an industry, just like any other non-food industry. There is an extraordinary amount of creativity involved in the business – yet how many owners of restaurant businesses are aware of the significance of identifying their unique features, claiming proprietary rights to them and maintaining their rights?

If you are dining out, think of what attracts you to a restaurant, besides the parking facilities. Is it the catchy name; the interior decoration – furniture, display items on the wall, floor or ceiling patterns/designs, etc; the menu card with imaginatively-named menu items; dishes displayed or served in a uniquely arranged manner, perhaps with uniquely designed cutlery and plates; the uniforms of the restaurant staff; the type of music played; the popularity of the chef? This article addresses the manner in which creative elements in the restaurant business are protected – and kept away from competitors’ reach.

What’s in a name?
Often, the trade name of the restaurant (i.e. the name on the signages, menu card and so forth) may not be the same as the registered name or incorporated name of the restaurant. For example McDonald’s® may be the trade name of the restaurant but the owner of the fast-food chain in Malaysia is Golden Arches Restaurants Sdn Bhd. Unless the trade name is registered as a trademark in the country, others may adopt identical or similar names. Taking action against unregistered marks is a difficult and expensive affair with uncertain results. So when starting out a restaurant business, once the trade name has been selected, the owners are advised to quickly register the trade name as a trademark. If the owner allows others to use the same trade name for similar restaurants under a license, then the licensing agreement needs to be registered at the Trademark office.

If it looks good… protect it?
The general ambiance of a restaurant’s interior is difficult to protect, and even more so to enforce, unless the other party virtually copies all elements of the interior. One way to circumvent this is to obtain and use specifically and exclusively designed interior articles for the layout of the restaurant and its bars, tables, chairs, counters, cutlery, and so forth.

The intellectual property rights – in particular, the industrial design rights – of the articles can be owned by the restaurant. Once registered, no one can reproduce the same design or articles, even the original manufacturer of the articles. Items like photographs, artistic paintings, the uniforms of the staff can also be protected by copyright, with the rights assigned to the restaurant. No one can reproduce the same photographs, paintings or uniform. However, the restaurant may of course reproduce the articles for their other branch restaurants.

All about the menu
The design of the menu card with all its artistic work, if original, would be automatically protected under Copyright law. Of course, if an external designer/artist was engaged to design the card, then the restaurant should obtain an assignment of the copyright if there has been no contract of commissioning the work.

The protection of menu items is more challenging. Even if the menu item is a common dish that is widely available in other restaurants, the menu items can be called by unique names. The unique names can be claimed as trademarks so that other restaurants cannot call the same dish by your trademark. This is what McDonald’s® is doing by referring to their dishes as McChicken®, McEgg®, Filet-O-Fish®, and so forth. Other restaurants can offer for sale the same chicken or fish meal, but they cannot refer to it as McChicken®, McEgg®, or Filet-O-Fish®.

So you have a “secret” recipe – what now?
Most restaurants keep the recipe for their signature dishes as trade secrets. However, calling the recipe a “trade secret” is insufficient if the management does not take appropriate management steps to maintain the recipes as trade secrets – just like how Kentucky Fried Chicken® keeps their recipe as a trade secret. Only a few privileged staff should be informed of the ingredients and the methods of preparing and making the food. Confidentiality agreements should be entered into as well.