After two years of proceedings, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has accepted Greece's application and cancelled the trademark «Turkaegean». The decision means that the term can no longer be used as a registered trademark in the EU for any of the six categories of services for which it was registered (advertising, media, transport, education, hospitality and legal services).
The Turkish side has two months to appeal and four months to submit its full justification. However, the EUIPO's decision is based on three clear legal points:
- Geographical nature of the term
“Turkaegean” was considered to be a strongly geographical term, which is contrary to the trademark rules. A mark that directly refers to a region or geographical area cannot be exclusive. - Lack of distinctiveness
The mark had no particular originality or distinctive element. According to the EUIPO, the term does not create an identifiable value for a particular service provider. - Inadequacy of the graphic element
The red heart accompanying the word was assessed as an ordinary advertising motif and not as a distinctive element capable of altering the descriptive character of the mark.
Apart from the pure legal elements, the decision also contains clear statements against the arguments of Greece and Turkey. The Greek side argued that the mark violates public policy and was filed in bad faith, while Turkey claimed that Greece is attempting to monopolize tourism in the Aegean. EUIPO rejected the Turkish claim of «abuse of rights» in full and accepted the basic reasoning of the Greek application.
The development is also considered important at the political level. According to Development Minister Takis Theodoricakos, the decision is a «significant success» and confirms that Greece is effectively defending its national interests in the field of trademarking. Adonis Georgiades, who had initiated the procedure when he was minister, expressed similar satisfaction.
First positive reading in the US as well
At the same time, in the United States, the Trademark Office requested additional explanations from the Turkish Tourism Organization regarding the reason for the choice of the term “TurkAegean”. The Greek side has already submitted a full dossier arguing that the use of the term is geopolitical in nature. In the US, it remains open even to the possibility that the process could be extended to a federal court to examine the «ulterior motives» of the Turkish application.
The EUIPO's decision is a clear European position: terms that carry a strong geographical or political load cannot be used as exclusive trademarks, especially when they create confusion about locations, cultural identity or tourist orientation.
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