Who is a relevant consumer?
The word ‘relevant’ adds a degree of variability to the expression and naturally, the relevant consumer group varies depending on the goods or services marketed.
Turkish Trademark Decree Law no. 556 Pertaining to Protection of Trademarks does not contain any expression similar to ‘relevant consumer’; instead, the concerned group of people is described generally as ‘the public’.
However, in practice the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal (which handles trademark and unfair competition cases), evaluates what ‘the public’ consists of in each and every case with its own conditions. The need to evaluate this expression on a case-by-case basis arises because the type, quality or character of the goods and services always changes the concerned group of people who are familiar with the trademark.
Generally, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal accepts that the relevant consumer group consists of the average consumer to whom the product and services are marketed. As a general rule, it is accepted that an average consumer pays an average level of attention to the differences between trademarks, and can easily overlook minimal differences.
Moreover, an average consumer might easily link a later, similar trademark with a former, familiar trademark which could lead to the later trademark benefiting from the notoriety of the former trademark.
As the group of people concerned with the product and services changes, the level of attention of the average consumer also changes. The Court of Appeal and the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) expect a higher level of attention from some groups of consumers (such as experts, specialists, doctors, etc).
The attention levels of these special groups are generally not the same as that of a group concerned with a consumer item. Considering the precedent cases, it is possible to say that the price, quality, nature, or availability of the goods and services change the courts’ point of view in determining the relevant consumer group and its level of attention.
Below are examples of some relevant consumer groups and their level of attention for specific goods or services:
