Application Rejected Based On Opponent's Genuine Rights In Mark Arising From Extensive Use Abroad

The Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) has rejected a trademark application filed by a local company based on the opponent's genuine rights in the trademark arising from extensive earlier use of the mark in other countries.

In the opposition proceedings, HANORAH Italia Srl – the Italian pioneer in the cosmetics industry – requested the refusal of a local application for the trademark HANORAH in Classes 3, 25 and 35 of the Nice Classification. The opposition was based on:

• the opponent's genuine rights in the mark HANORAH, which had been used extensively by the opponent and had become known in foreign markets prior to the filing of the opposed application; and
• the bad faith of the applicant, as it was unlikely that the applicant would have created a trademark identical to that of the opponent and intended to use or register it for identical and similar goods and services without being aware of the opponent and its trademark.