A Case-Law Study On Justification Of Non-Use Of A Trademark

1. Introduction

Despite annulment of Article 14 of the Decree No. 556 by the Turkish Constitutional Court has created a lacuna about the legal ground of the use obligation of trademarks; the proprietor always had the obligation for using its trademark in Turkish and international Trademark Law. In a nutshell a trademark that has not been genuinely used in Turkey for at least continuous 5 years, the trademark can be requested to be cancelled due to non-use of the trademark, unless there is a justification for non-use of the trademark. This article studies the justifications that can be shown for non-use of a trademark in consideration of the current case-law.

2. The Notion of "Use of Trademark" under the Current Legislation and Due Evidence of Use