McDonalds patent on Reuben challenged in court

(AP) Early in April 2004 RSR reported that McDonalds corporation filed patents on the Reuben sandwich. In fact patents are being filed in the US, EU and several Asian markets. Since the announcement the company has been pressuring Reuben producers throughout the world to pay royalties on the order of 0.10 dollars (American) on each sandwich sold. Consumer reaction has been muted however unnamed sources with deep ties to the Reuben community report coalitions are being formed and resistance to strong arm tactics by McDonalds is growing. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has vehemently denied American forces in Iraq are enforcing McDonalds patent rights and that the recent unrest in Fallujah and Najaf is being fueled by what radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called "the infidels unjust tax on Iraqi Reubens". The US 9th circuit has been asked to intervene.

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