Intellectual Property, Information Technology & Cybersecurity

Author: Tolga Sevinir

Introduction

The Court of Cassation has evaluated the criteria related to the similarity of the trademark in all of these decisions, and while showing how the criteria will be applied, it has also helped to determine the boundaries of the term “likelihood of confusion”. In this article, four different 2022 decisions of the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation on the invalidation of a trademark will be analyzed. The opinions of the high court on the criteria of trademark similarity will also be discussed. The 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation’s decisions to be discussed in this article are as follows:

• Decision dated 15.02.2022 and numbered 2020/7024E. 2022/1138K ("1st Decision")
• Decision dated 14.02.2022 and numbered 2020/6991E. 2022/1093K. ("2nd Decision")
• Decision No. 2020/6754E. 2022/994K dated 10.02.2022 ("3rd Decision") and
• Decision No. 2020/6776E. 2022/858K dated 07.02.2022 ("4th Decision")

Regulation on Similarity of Trademarks

The application for a trademark which is identical or similar to a previously registered trademark, and which is likely to be confused with it, is accepted as a relative ground for refusal both in the abrogated Decree Law No. 556 dated 24.06.1995 on the Protection of Trademarks ("Trademark Law") and in the current legislation, Industrial Property Law No. 6769 ("IPL"). Both laws grant the right holder whose right is infringed the right to file a lawsuit for the invalidation of the trademark.

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