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Something smells funny here.

(update 6/9/10: We have recieved lots of press about this story, and I want to clarify a few points. We ran the name Little Mac past a lawyer months ago, who told us he didn’t believe McDonald’s would have a problem with the name because there was no brand confusion. We became concerned when Erin, who is also a lawyer, started getting questioned by friends in Boston about the connection between Little Mac and McDonald’s. Erin called McDonald’s and spoke to their corporate council who told us they would have a problem with our name, or any other name with “mac” or “mc” in it. We never received a letter from McDonald’s, nor told anyone that we did.)

First, setting aside that the term is counsel, not council - something I'd expect a lawyer to know - the minute they start getting press they go from claiming that McDonald's was going to sue them to saying that the woman (wife?) had just called and was told there'd be a problem with it. No C&D letter from McDonald's, let alone the actual filing of a lawsuit.

IMHO (and this is just opinion/speculation, not accusation), what we have here are a couple of Libs who have managed to engineer a situation that allows them to build name recognition and market share at the expense of a big multi-national corporation. The woman/wife probably just talked to some lower-level lawyer in the General Counsel's office and walked away after being told there'd be a problem (note their language changed from claiming they were going to be sued to sayng that McDonald's would have a "problem" with the name). The name and official title of the person she spoke with is unidentified, and what are the chances that the head lawyer for McDonald's is going to take a call from a 2-person start-up?

Oh, and there are MANY restaurants out there that use "Mac" in their name or offerings. All the chili joints that sell "Chili Mac" for instance. In fact, note that these folks are going to change the name of their restaurant, but not remove "Mac" from their offering names. "Big Mac" - the apples/apples comparison, is a product name. I'm not a lawyer, but I think there'd be a bigger issue with having products with names that sounded like McDonald's products ...

I was thinking the same thing, after posting this story! It seems the owners may have contacted McDonald's themselves and had a lawyer there tell them they run the risk of being sued, so the owners thought this would be a great marketing opportunity, and have cashed in?

And as you said, lots of places use the 'mac' and 'mc' name in them. Seems to me the owners are using the McDonald's name and this bogus potential lawsuit story for their own enrichment?