With the entry into force of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 from the date of 10.01.2017, in the event of the emergence of certain conditions stated in the Law, the proof of the trademark use has become a necessity.
In the framework of the provisions of 6769 numbered Law and the Regulation enacted for the implementation of this Law, a guide has been issued by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office regarding the proving of trademark use. In this manual and the decisions of the Office in practice, it is observed that invoices have a very important place in the stage of proving the use of the trademark. In most cases, if the invoice related to the trademark use not provided, it is observed that the Office decides that the trademark use has not proved.
In the aforementioned article, it is claimed that social media is one of the most effective and popular advertising, promotion, marketing, public relations activities, and tools of our time. It is also claimed that evaluations based on this traditional approach related to the evidence of the use of the trademark in the mentioned classes, would result in the overlooking of the current commercial business conduct and the future trade relations. In the stated article, it is further alleged that so far as the Internet and social media is concerned, this kind of an approach to the classes related to advertising, promotion, marketing, public relations services, could produce unfair results.
The article is in Turkish and it can be accessed from the link below:
http://www.ankarabarosu.org.tr/siteler/ankarabarosu/frmmakale/2019-1/4.pdf
The revised English version of the stated article is also published on our website's Blog Section.
Very truly yours,
KIRCI Law Office