Indran Shanmuganathan
About Indran Shanmuganathan
Indran Shanmuganathan appears as counsel of record in 4 reported Malaysia judgments (2025–2026). These were heard before MYHC (3) and MYCOA (1).
On the court record
Indran Shanmuganathan's reported practice is concentrated in intellectual-property litigation, and especially trade marks, appearing in the High Court and the Court of Appeal and acting for plaintiffs, defendants and appellants.
His trade-mark work includes an opposition and registration dispute in which he acted for a plaintiff, McDonald's Corporation, over the likelihood of confusion between marks. The plaintiff had cultivated a distinctive "Mc/Mac" family of marks, and a defendant had applied to register the mark "MC CURRY" in Class 29; the plaintiff's opposition had been dismissed by the Registrar, and the case turned on whether the marks were confusingly similar and whether the goods were such that the public could reasonably believe they came from the same source.
He also acts on appeals from the Registrar of Trade Marks. Acting for a defendant in a matter concerning The Polo/Lauren Company and a local company, the appeal concerned whether the defendant's mark was confusingly similar to the plaintiff's marks and whether it was distinctive.
His appellate work reaches the question of who may claim a mark. Acting for an appellant in a Court of Appeal matter between two foreign companies, he was engaged on an application to oppose the registration of a trade mark, on the first use of the mark in Malaysia and whether use by a related or associated company confers on the appellant a right to register the mark in its own name.
On this record the practice is a focused trade-mark practice, spanning oppositions, registrations and appeals from the Registrar, where the recurring questions are the likelihood of confusion between competing marks, the distinctiveness of a mark, and the priority conferred by first use — argued for and against both well-known international brands and local traders. It is a specialist trade-mark practice, argued on both sides of the register — for the owner defending a mark and for the applicant seeking to register one.
How many cases has Indran Shanmuganathan appeared in?
Indran Shanmuganathan appears as counsel of record in 4 reported Malaysia judgments (2025–2026).
Which courts does Indran Shanmuganathan appear in?
Indran Shanmuganathan appears before MYHC (3) and MYCOA (1).
What is Indran Shanmuganathan's main area of practice?
Intellectual-property litigation, especially trade marks. His matters include a trade-mark opposition for McDonald's Corporation over its "Mc/Mac" family of marks, an appeal from the Registrar concerning The Polo/Lauren Company, and a Court of Appeal opposition between two foreign companies turning on first use of a mark.
What was the McDonald's trade-mark matter about?
Acting for the plaintiff, McDonald's Corporation, an opposition to a defendant's application to register the mark "MC CURRY" in Class 29, where the plaintiff relied on its distinctive "Mc/Mac" family of marks. The Registrar had dismissed the opposition, and the case turned on whether the marks were confusingly similar and whether the public could reasonably believe the goods came from the same source.
What was the first-use question in the Court of Appeal opposition?
In a matter between two foreign companies, in which he acted for an appellant, whether the first use of the mark in Malaysia and use by a related or associated company conferred on the appellant a right to register the mark in its own name. It was an application to oppose the registration of the mark.