Article 7/1-(i) of Decree Law No. 556 on the Protection of Trademarks, regarding the absolute grounds for refusal of trademark registration, has been annulled by the Constitutional Court by Decision no. 2015/33-50 dated May 27, 2015 and published in the Official Gazette no. 29374 on June 2, 2015.
With this Decision, Article 7/1-(i) regarding the absolute grounds for refusal of trademark registration, "trademarks that have not been authorized by their owners and well-known marks within the meaning of Article 6 bis of the Paris Convention" has been annulled. The ruling is in accordance with the Constitutional Court striking out Article 16(5) of the Trademark Decree Law in May on the ground that the Constitution stating decree laws may not regulate fundamental rights, including but not limited to proriatery right.
After this decision, trademark applications which are identical or similar with a well-known trademark shall be registered by TPI on absolute grounds. In light of the ruling, right holders of well-known trademarks, defined in the Paris Convention, will need to monitor the Official Trademark Bulletin more closely.
Click to access the Decision in Turkish.
Originally published June 3rd, 2015
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