District Court Upholds Foreign Mark Owner's Opposition Based On ‘Genuine Right Ownership' Ground

• Cummins Inc opposed the registration of the mark GENUINE PARTS on the ground of 'genuine right ownership'
• The District Court ruled that Cummins had genuine rights in the mark due to its registrations in the European Union and the United States
• As the applicant and Cummins operated in the same field of business, the application had been filed in bad faith

Background

The principle of 'genuine right ownership', which is regulated by Article 6/3 of the Turkish Intellectual Property Code No 6769, is a very important ground of opposition that often needs to be supported by evidence. Genuine right ownership requires, as a rule, evidence of the effective and earlier use of a mark in Turkey, but can also be supported by additional grounds, such as bad faith.