ERDEM-NEWSLETTER-2018-metin

325 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW Malicious Registration within the Scope of Trademark Law* Att. Yesim Tokgoz Trademarks are essential vehicles for business life. These instru- ments created and improved with much effort and capital, are easy targets for abuse. Trademark laws, basically, aim to take trademarks under protection through registration, and to prevent or remove the unjust benefit of third persons who are not right holders. Pursuant to Turkish law and, likewise, many other countries, the protection of the trademarks is based on registration and is territorial. However, there are several exceptions. In this article, we will shed light on rights that have arisen from unregistered symbols and foreign trademarks that are not registered in Turkey, within the scope of malicious registration. Malicious Registration Pursuant to the established decisions of the Court of Cassation, malice in trademark registration is defined as “to obtain unjust ben - efit from others’ trademarks through the misuse of the purpose of the protection provided by registration.” In other words, it means that the registration application by a person is made, despite the fact that she/ he knows, or it is possible that she/he may know, that the symbol is used and/or registered by another person, at home or abroad. Pursuant to the doctrine, malicious registration is an abuse of rights. On the other hand, it aims to cause confusion with others’ trade- marks or symbols, or to prevent the registration of others’ trademarks in Turkey, and to take an advantage through this means 1 . The person who applies for registration maliciously aims to take advantage of the quality that the trademark represents in his/her own goods and services. * Article of August 2018 1 Tekinalp, Ünal : Fikri Mülkiyet Hukuku, İstanbul 2012, p. 428.