The European trademark “Turkaegean” is cancelled by decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) (C58927, 10/01/25) and after coordinated actions by the Ministry of Development and the Industrial Property Organisation.

After the coordinated actions by the Ministry of Development with the supervised entity Industrial Property Organisation and intensive preparation by the Greek side, the decision (C58927, 10/01/25) was published, vindicating the national positions, as announced yesterday by the Minister of Development, Takis Theodorikakos.

The Deputy Minister of Development, Anna Mani-Papadimitriou, as supervisor of the Industrial Property Organisation with the Minister of Development, Takis Theodorikakos, in her post on social media regarding the decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on the cancellation of the “Turkaegean” brand, states that the decision is a vindication of Greece.

According to Kathimerini, it was in the summer of 2022 when the registration of this trademark by Turkey was revealed a year earlier. Until that time, it was known that this term was used as an advertisement in tourism campaigns in the neighbouring country.

In May 2022, the Industrial Property Organisation took the reins of the case. A task force was quickly assembled consisting of both lawyers from the agency’s legal department as well as well-recognised lawyers in the domain of industrial intellectual property and with extensive experience in related cases.

The application for annulment before the European Union Intellectual Property Office was filed at a rapid pace, while in the two-year course of the legal battle, the Turkish side allegedly followed protracted tactics, constantly requesting the extension of the final dates of each procedural act.

It is recalled that in previous years similar cases of other countries had been involved, such as that of Italy against the Mafia brand of a pizzeria chain and also of Iceland against the Iceland brand, which had been adopted by the chain of frozen food stores “Iceland Foods” in Britain.

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