NEWSLETTER-2019-metin

260 NEWSLETTER 2019 legislation, import restrictions and embargoes. The deterioration of the proprietor’s financial situation is not accepted as a just cause. It should also be noted that if the trademark is used for only a part of the goods or service classes in respect of which it is registered, the remaining classes may become a target for intervention. Within this scope, it would not be incorrect to say that the protection of the precautionary registered goods and service classes is limited to five years 5 . Therefore, trademarks must not be registered for the purposes of collections; otherwise, the following processes may be encountered: Counterclaim of Genuine Use in the Opposition to the Publication of Application Trademark registration applications may be rejected upon the objection of the previous proprietor if it is likely to be confused with a trademark that has been registered, or applied for registration, be- fore (“Opposition to Publication”). This issue is one of the relative grounds for refusal pursuant to Art. 6 of the IP Law. The Opposition to Publication can be filed within two months after the application is published in the Trademark Bulletin. The applicant, having encoun- tered an objection in this respect (before the beginning of the evalu- ation regarding the similarities between the signs) may request from the opponent proprietor of an earlier trademark, to furnish proof that the object trademark for the opposition has been put to Genuine Use in connection with the goods or service classes in respect of which it is registered, for a period of five years (“Counterclaim of Genuine Use”). In this case, if the opponent proprietor of an earlier trademark cannot prove that it has used its trademark as described, above, its opposition to publication shall be rejected, and the trademark of the applicant shall be registered. If the opponent proprietor of an earlier trademark can prove that it uses its trademark only in certain classes of goods or services, its opposition to publication shall be rejected in respect of unused classes, 5 e.g.: 11th CC of Court of Cassation, E. 2013/18616, K. 2014/6720, 07.04.2014.