Trademark damages in Turkey

01-04-2013

Isik Ozdogan and Ezgi Baklaci

In Turkish trademark law, it is a general rule that the effect of a trademark cancellation (invalidation) takes effect retrospectively.

This means cancellation of a trademark results in the removal of the trademark from the registry, as if it had never been in force (except where the grounds for cancellation occurred after the application date).

In contrast, Decree-law no: 556 protects registrations granted by the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI), stating that even if the trademark is cancelled and this cancellation has a retrospective effect, use of a registered trademark by the trademark owner does not constitute trademark infringement and therefore the owner does not have to pay compensation for this use.

However, Article 44/2 of Law no: 556 provides an exception to this rule. This exception states that the retrospective effects of cancellation do not harm any claims for compensation regarding damages caused by the acts of the trademark owner who registered the trademark in bad faith.


trademark damages, Turkey, trademark cancellation, TPI

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