But the plot thickens shortly thereafter.  The franchise was created, but it seems "Burger King" was copyrighted in Australia by someone other than the Burger King Corporation (web site). As a result, franchise owner Jack Cowin started the franchise chain in Australia as Hungry Jack's.  (Jack Cowin, Hungry Jack's... nope, no connection there).  Since he was licensed as a franchise by Burger King Corporation, the new restaurants had the same burger-looking logo, uniforms, menu offerings and the restaurants in the United States.  All seemed well in the world.

Of course, if you think this is all a bit of rubbish, you should bear in mind that Cowin is not an Australian, but in fact, a Canadian.

Well, the owner of the non-Burger King name let the copyright expire, and years later (years and years, upwards of 18 or so), Burger King Corporate asked Cowin to change the name.  Of course, Burger King Corporation was alleged to have also been doing things to more or less screw up Hungry Jacks' expansion of the franchise (withholding information, financial information, and such naughty bits).  And heck, at least relative to the name... by this time, most people have raised a family and are ready to send them off to college -- who'd want to rename their 18-year-old son or daughter?  

Exactly.  Cowin wasn't too keen, and like everything else in America when someone gets upset, a lawsuit ensued - surprise (Burger King Corporation v. Hungry Jack's Pty Limited (1999) 30 ACSR 551).  In June 2001, however, an Australian court settled the suit, finding in favor of Cowin and Hungry Jack's.  (As near as D.A.F.T. figures, the settlement ruled in terms of the original franchise agreement; reasons aside, Cowin was permitted to operate as Hungry Jack in 1971, so they're out of bounds in telling him he has to change the name many years later.)  The court ruling was in favor of Hungry Jack's, as noted, and Burger King was ordered to pay $75 million Australian (about $39 million U.S.) to Hungry Jack's, for breech of the franchise agreement.

If you'd like to learn more about such matters, I'd recommend your local library.  If you're ready for a meal, depending on where you are in the world (or in Australia, which is closer), try either Hungry Jack's or Burger King.  (If you're lucky, they'll be right across from one another, just to complicate the decision.)  For information relative to the trend in Australian courts of good faith dealings in franchises, you can check out this article.