A Precedent On 3D Trademarks' Enforcement

In 2022, the Turkish Court of Cassation ("TCoC") rendered a decision evaluating that the use of a 3D trademark (shown below) as bag-locks on counterfeit goods infringed the trademark holder's rights and the accused should have known that this 3D shape is a trademark.

The case subject to the precedent decision had started with the 3D trademark owner submitting a criminal complaint by arguing that their 3D trademark was used on counterfeit products. After the case turned into a criminal court action, the Criminal First Instance Intellectual Property Court ("the Criminal IP Court"), the Regional Court of Appeal ("RCoA") and TCoC had different opinions on whether the use of this 3D trademark on bag-locks infringes the complainant's rights and whether the accused should know this 3D shape is a trademark or not. The Criminal IP Court evaluated that the seized counterfeit goods were bearing the identical bag-lock shape of the complainant's registered trademark,