Protection Of Unregistered Trademarks

The trademark is the sign which enables the goods or services of a business to be distinguished from the goods or services of other businesses. Article 7 of the Industrial Property Law (“IP Law”) explains the scope of the rights arising from trademark registration and under this article, the legal protection of the trademark is gained through registration. Therefore, as a rule, IP Law ensures the protection of only registered trademarks. While the registration of a trademark is obligatory in order to benefit from the legal protection provided in IP Law, registration is not obligatory for signs such as words, shapes, colors to be used to distinguish the business' goods/or services from other businesses, to be accepted as a trademark. However, in this case, how to protect an unregistered trademark is an issue for discussion.