GAS Decision: Plaintiff having kept silent about the defendant’s trademark and then requesting the invalidity of the dependant’s trademark, based upon the rights of well-known trademark constitutes the abuse of the right.
Plaintiff’s counsel stated that the name” GAS”, registered in several countries in the world and well-known trademark, was registered by the defendant in an unfair way and the merchandising of plaintiff’s products was hindered. He also stated that their trademark was protected by Paris Convention; hence the plaintiff’s counsel demanded invalidity of the defendant’s trademark.
Defendant’s counsel claimed that his client registered the trademark in 1992, 1995 and 10 years later renewed it, hence the plaintiff’s trademark was not well-known, he did not sue in 5 years. Furthermore, he indicated that because of the defendant’s trademark, the plaintiff’s application about his textile goods was rejected by TPI (Turkish Patent Institute) in 16.01.1997.
Based on the proofs and expert reports, it was stated that the defendant’s registration was made in 1992, at that time the plaintiff’s trademark did not include any commercial activity which could be considered as well-known trademark in Turkey, the plaintiff opened a lawsuit 10 years after the registration of the defendant’s trademark, during this period the plaintiff did not oppose the defendant about using the trademark, the defendant managed to introduce the trademark “GAS” and performed commercial activity. The court decided that dismissed the case since the opposition was not made in the right time.
Plaintiff’s counsel appealed to the decision.
Plaintiff’s counsel was rejected and the Court affirmed the decision.
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