SOME DETERMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENTS  ON THE CONDITIONS OF THE LEGITIMATE USE DEFENSE  IN THE LIGHT OF EUROPEAN UNION AND TURKISH TRADEMARK LAW

Gül Büyükkılıç

Makale detayları

SOME DETERMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENTS ON THE CONDITIONS OF THE LEGITIMATE USE DEFENSE IN THE LIGHT OF EUROPEAN UNION AND TURKISH TRADEMARK LAW

Yazarlar:

Gül Büyükkılıç

Yayıncı:

Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University

Ana Başlıklar:

Hukuk (Diğer)

Dergi:

Ticaret ve Fikri Mülkiyet Hukuku Dergisi Vol.9 Issue 2, pp.199-218

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2023

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001309312

pISSN:

2149-4576

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 Trademark right is one of the strong property rights that is absolute, can be asserted against anyone, and provides the owner with a monopoly right over the sign. However, determining the scope of protection only by taking into account the interests of the trademark owner will lead to the exclusion of other economic actors in the market, and to the damage or even elimination of free and fair competition. This is why, in some cases, the absolute protection provided to the trademark should be relaxed and the interests of third parties should be given precedence over the trademark owner. Article 75 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 regulates some special cases that will not constitute infringement provided that they are used honestly and in the ordinary course of commercial life and clarifies the conditions of the legitimate use limitation to a great extent. On the other hand, the wording of the provision leaves some questions unanswered. As a matter of fact, the legal nature of legitimate use, what should be understood from the expression use honest and in the ordinary course of commercial life, the status of the provision vis-à-vis Article 2 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 within this framework, what is meant by the concept of ordinary course of commercial life, and the necessity of trademark use within the scope of the provision are some of them. In this study, in the light of the European Union and Turkish trademark law doctrine and judicial decisions, some criteria for legitimate use limitation have been tried to be determined by clarifying these issues.

 Trademark right is one of the strong property rights that is absolute, can be asserted against anyone, and provides the owner with a monopoly right over the sign. However, determining the scope of protection only by taking into account the interests of the trademark owner will lead to the exclusion of other economic actors in the market, and to the damage or even elimination of free and fair competition. This is why, in some cases, the absolute protection provided to the trademark should be relaxed and the interests of third parties should be given precedence over the trademark owner. Article 75 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 regulates some special cases that will not constitute infringement provided that they are used honestly and in the ordinary course of commercial life and clarifies the conditions of the legitimate use limitation to a great extent. On the other hand, the wording of the provision leaves some questions unanswered. As a matter of fact, the legal nature of legitimate use, what should be understood from the expression use honest and in the ordinary course of commercial life, the status of the provision vis-à-vis Article 2 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 within this framework, what is meant by the concept of ordinary course of commercial life, and the necessity of trademark use within the scope of the provision are some of them. In this study, in the light of the European Union and Turkish trademark law doctrine and judicial decisions, some criteria for legitimate use limitation have been tried to be determined by clarifying these issues.

 Trademark right is one of the strong property rights that is absolute, can be asserted against anyone, and provides the owner with a monopoly right over the sign. However, determining the scope of protection only by taking into account the interests of the trademark owner will lead to the exclusion of other economic actors in the market, and to the damage or even elimination of free and fair competition. This is why, in some cases, the absolute protection provided to the trademark should be relaxed and the interests of third parties should be given precedence over the trademark owner. Article 75 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 regulates some special cases that will not constitute infringement provided that they are used honestly and in the ordinary course of commercial life and clarifies the conditions of the legitimate use limitation to a great extent. On the other hand, the wording of the provision leaves some questions unanswered. As a matter of fact, the legal nature of legitimate use, what should be understood from the expression use honest and in the ordinary course of commercial life, the status of the provision vis-à-vis Article 2 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 within this framework, what is meant by the concept of ordinary course of commercial life, and the necessity of trademark use within the scope of the provision are some of them. In this study, in the light of the European Union and Turkish trademark law doctrine and judicial decisions, some criteria for legitimate use limitation have been tried to be determined by clarifying these issues.

 Marka hakkı, mutlak nitelikte, herkese karşı ileri sürülebilen, sahibine işaret üzerinde tekel hakkı sağlayan güçlü malvarlığı haklarından biridir. Ancak koruma kapsamının sadece marka sahibinin menfaatlerinin dikkate alınarak belirlenmesi, piyasadaki diğer ekonomik aktörlerin devre dışı kalmasına, serbest ve haklı rekabetin zedelenmesine ve hatta ortadan kalkmasına sebep olur. İşte bu sebepledir ki, bazı istisnai hâllerde markaya sağlanan mutlak korumanın esnetilmesi ve marka sahibi yerine üçüncü kişilerin menfaatlerine üstünlük tanınması gerekir. 6769 sayılı Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu SMK m. 75, dürüst ve ticari hayatın olağan akışı içerisinde kullanılmak kaydıyla tecavüz teşkil etmeyecek özel hâlleri düzenlemekte ve meşru kullanım sınırlamasının koşullarına önemli ölçüde açıklık getirmektedir. Öte yandan hükmün lafzı bazı soruları da cevapsız bırakmaktadır. Nitekim meşru kullanımın hukuki niteliği, dürüst ve ticari hayatın olağan akışı içerisinde kullanım ifadesinden ne anlaşılması gerektiği, bu çerçevede hükmün 4721 sayılı Türk Medeni Kanunu TMK m. 2 karşısındaki durumu, ticari hayatın olağan akışı kavramının neyi ifade ettiği, hüküm kapsamında markasal kullanımın gerekliliği bunlardan bazılarıdır. Bu çalışmada, Avrupa Birliği ve Türk marka hukuku doktrini ve yargı kararları ışığında söz konusu hususlara açıklık kazandırılarak meşru kullanım sınırlamasına ilişkin bazı kriterler tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır.

Makale detayları

SOME DETERMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENTS ON THE CONDITIONS OF THE LEGITIMATE USE DEFENSE IN THE LIGHT OF EUROPEAN UNION AND TURKISH TRADEMARK LAW

Yazarlar:

Gül Büyükkılıç

Yayıncı:

Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University

Ana Başlıklar:

Hukuk (Diğer)

Dergi:

Ticaret ve Fikri Mülkiyet Hukuku Dergisi Vol.9 Issue 2, pp.199-218

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2023

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001309312

pISSN:

2149-4576

Legitimate Use

Honest Use

Fair Use

Honest Practices

Ordinary Course of Commercial Life

Lawful Use

Lawful Use DefenseMeşru Kullanım

Dürüst Kullanım

Dürüst Uygulamalar

Tasvir Amaçlı Kullanım

Hukuka Uygun Kullanım

Hukuka Uygun Kullanım Savunması

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Gül Büyükkılıç

Yayıncı: Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University

Ana Başlıklar: Hukuk (Diğer)

Dergi: Ticaret ve Fikri Mülkiyet Hukuku Dergisi Vol.9 Issue 2, pp.199-218

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 12/2023

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001309312

pISSN: 2149-4576

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Gül Büyükkılıç

Yayıncı:

Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University

Ana Başlıklar:

Hukuk (Diğer)

Dergi:

Ticaret ve Fikri Mülkiyet Hukuku Dergisi Vol.9 Issue 2, pp.199-218

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2023

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001309312

pISSN:

2149-4576