ERDEM-NEWSLETTER-2018-metin

326 NEWSLETTER 2018 This leads to an abuse of the trademark’s reputation and constitutes a contradiction to prudent merchant rules. It should be emphasized that malicious registration requires a prudent evaluation in every case bearing the risk of trademark confu- sion 2 , the collocutor that the trademark addresses, and the good or service classes that the trademark is to be registered under. Unregistered Symbols Pertaining to the doctrine and the Court of Cassation decisions, the privilege belongs to the real right holder who creates, markets, and introduces the trademark to the public 3 . The registration of symbols with the Turkish Patent and Trade- mark Institution (“Turkish Patent”) that people use in their business lives is at their sole discretion. Unregistered symbols are protected under the provisions of unjust competition of the Turkish Commercial Law in any event. Moreover, Article 6.3 of Turkish Intellectual Property Law num- bered 6769 (“IPL”), grants an opposition right, under Turkish Patent, to the proprietor of an unregistered trademark, or another symbol used in the course of trade, if a registry application that is same as, or simi- lar to, their symbol, in the same or similar good or service classes. In order that the proprietor may use this right, the symbol is supposed to have marked distinctiveness 4 . In such cases, it may be accepted that the applicant has acted in bad faith in order to profit from famousness of the symbol. Likewise, upon the request of the real right holder, a trademark that has been registered maliciously shall be removed from the trade- mark registry through an invalidity case. If the abovementioned con- ditions are fulfilled, the Court of Cassation determines the real right 2 Tokgöz, Yeşim : Possibilities and the Results of Trademark Confusion, Erdem & Erdem Newsletter, April 2018. 3 Decision of the 11th Chamber of Court of Cassation, 19.04.2002, No. 2001/9903E. 2002/3699 K. 4 Decision of the 11th Chamber of Court of Cassation,13.10.2003, No. 2003/2883 E. 2003/9171 K.