Penoor trademark is registered for 10 years by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, including both visual, audio, website and content.
1. Trademark Concept and Trademark Right
A trademark is any sign such as a person's name, shape, color, color, letter, letter, number, sound and the shape of the goods or their packaging that distinguishes the goods or services of an undertaking/business from the goods or services of other undertakings/businesses. The most important function of a trademark is to distinguish the goods or services of one enterprise from the goods or services of another enterprise. Thus, thanks to the trademark, it is understood to whom a good or service belongs and its recognition increases. As the recognition of the trademark increases, its commercial value increases.
Trademark right holders often make significant investments and promotional activities to increase the awareness of their trademarks. Today, with the increasing use of the internet, promotional activities for the brand are intensively carried out on websites and social media. However, malicious persons who want to benefit from this awareness of the trademark are also emerging more and more. These people can gain unfair profits by imitating the trademark or using the trademark in their own products without the permission of the trademark right holder. At this point, the trademark right owner can prevent the use of his trademark by malicious persons by applying for legal protection provided exclusively by the law.
In this article, the legal protections and remedies provided by the registered trademark to the trademark right holder will be explained in general terms. If the trademark is not registered, the trademark owner may file a claim and lawsuit based on the unfair competition provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code due to infringement of the trademark right.
2. Which legislation regulates trademark rights?
While the trademark right and the legal protections it provides were previously regulated by the Decree Law No. 556 on Trademarks, with the entry into force of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 published in the official gazette on 10.01.2017, the trademark right and the legal protections it provides have started to be protected within the scope of the Industrial Property Law as of this date.
3. Which Institution Should I Apply to for Trademark Registration?
With the entry into force of the Industrial Property Law, the name of the Turkish Patent Industry institution, where trademark applications were made, was changed to the Turkish Trademark and Patent Office. Trademark right holders will now apply to the Turkish Trademark and Patent Office to register their trademarks. In fact, registration of trademarks is not compulsory. However, registration is an important tool that prevents infringement of the trademark right by facilitating the proof of the rights on the trademark.
4. How Long Does the Registration of Trademark Rights Remain Valid?
By registering the trademark right, it provides the trademark right holder with a 10-year protection period from the date of application. When this 10-year protection period expires, the trademark right holder can extend the registration period for another 10 years by applying to the Turkish Trademark and Patent Office within 6 months from the expiration of the period. If the trademark right holder does not request an extension within 6 months after the expiration of the protection period, the trademark becomes invalid.
5. Which Cases Are Considered Infringement of Trademark Right?
The right to use a registered trademark belongs exclusively to the trademark right holder. Unfair and unlawful use of the trademark without the permission of the trademark right holder is considered as trademark infringement. The most intensive uses that constitute infringement of the trademark right are the use of the trademark without the permission of the trademark owner, imitation by making the same or indistinguishably similar, use of the trademark in its own products and use of the trademark as a trade name. Article 29 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 specifies the circumstances that constitute infringement of the trademark right.
Article 29- (1) The following acts shall be deemed as infringement of trademark right:
a. Using the trademark in the forms specified in Article 7 without the permission of the trademark owner,
The cases listed in Article 7 of the Law are as follows:
- The use of any sign identical to the registered trademark on goods or services covered by the registration,
- The use of any sign which is identical or similar to the registered trademark and which covers goods or services identical or similar to the goods or services covered by the registered trademark and which is therefore likely to cause confusion, including the possibility of confusion by the public, including the possibility of association with the registered trademark,
- The use of any sign which is identical or similar to the registered trademark, regardless of whether it is on the same, similar or different goods or services, and which, due to the level of recognition it has reached in Turkey, will obtain an unfair benefit from the reputation of the trademark or damage its reputation or damage its distinctive character, without a justifiable reason,
b. Imitation of a trademark by using the trademark or an indistinguishably similar trademark without the permission of the trademark owner,
c. Selling, distributing, otherwise putting into the field of commerce, importing, exporting, holding for commercial purposes, or proposing to make a contract for the products bearing the trademark used through infringement, even though it knows or should know that the trademark is imitated by using the trademark or an indistinguishably similar trademark,
d. Expanding the rights granted by the trademark owner through a license without permission or transferring these rights to third parties.
6. Which Lawsuits Can Be Filed in Case of Trademark Infringement?
Article 29 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 states that in the presence of one of the situations specified in Article 29, the fact of trademark infringement occurs. The owner of the trademark right may apply for legal protection against the person or persons who commit this act of infringement and request that this infringement be prevented, stopped or removed, sentenced to compensation or punished. The person or persons who commit acts of trademark infringement have both civil and criminal liability.
a. What are the Civil Lawsuits that can be filed in case of Trademark Infringement?
In case of infringement of the trademark right, the legal protection actions that the trademark right holder may apply for are regulated under Articles 149, 150 and 151 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769.
I. Actions for Detection, Prevention, Suspension and Removal of Infringement
The acts of trademark infringement may vary. For this reason, the lawsuits that can be filed according to the situation of the act also vary.
If the trademark right holder thinks that an act against his trademark constitutes infringement of his trademark right, he should first reveal the existence of the situation by filing a Case for the Determination of Infringement. After the determination of the infringement, it may file a lawsuit for material and moral damages according to the situation.
If there is no infringement of the trademark right, but this infringement is highly likely to occur, the trademark right holder should file a Possible Anti-Infringement Action to prevent a possible infringement.
If there has been an infringement of the trademark right and this infringement continues, this time the trademark right holder may file an Action for Cessation of Infringement to stop the infringement of the trademark right.
If the ongoing infringement has not yet been stopped and eliminated, this infringement can be completely eliminated with the Case for the Removal of the Infringement.
