McDonald’s In Russia Could Be Replaced By Fast-Food Chain With Copycat Logo
Photo 243262674 © Aleksandr Ermolaev | Dreamstime.com
McDonald’s wouldn’t be lovin’ how things are unfolding in Russia. With the fast-food giant recently pausing operations for all of its 850 outlets in the country due to the conflict with Ukraine, the nation’s authorities would be meaning to fill a Big Mac-shaped gap in its economy.
The next best alternative? Uncle Vanya.
According to Ukrainian news outlet Nexta (via 9News), the Russian trademark office recently received a trademark application for a food business called ‘Uncle Vanya’. The owners aren’t at all being discreet about whose clown-sized shoes they are trying to fill, as the Uncle Vanya logo is essentially the Golden Arches flipped sideways, with a stroke added to the left to spell the letter B (pronounced V).
Trademark squatting has begun in Russia.
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) March 16, 2022
On March 12th, a trademark application was filed for the McDonald's logo with the words "Uncle Vanya."
The Russian State Duma had earlier suggested that Russia would replace all McDonald's with "Uncle Vanya's."
h/t @Oh_89 #McDonalds pic.twitter.com/JlUfkLK67J
It is purported that the domestic company is being launched by a group of Russian businessmen. If their application is successful, they could be on track to eroding a reputation that McDonald’s had built for 30 years in the country.
It is also said that offerings served at Uncle Vanya restaurants would be “100% Russian” to keep prices low and to retain jobs.
Signs of McDonald’s, among other big brands, potentially being replaced by Russian clones arose earlier this month, when the Ministry of Economic Development proposed to lax intellectual property rights of companies who have left the nation, essentially enabling trademark squatting.
[via Crain’s Chicago Business and 9News, images via various sources]
