MATRIX CASE SUMMARY
Jurisdiction: Turkey
Subject Heading: I.D.1. Likelihood of Confusion – Similarity of Marks
Case Name and
Citation: L’oreal vs. Gelisim Kozmetik San ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. , Case No.2009/257, Decision no.2010/36 (Bakirkoy Court of Intellectual and Industrial Rights, February 25, 2010)
Plaintiff: L’oreal
Defendant: Gelisim Kozmetik San ve Tic. Ltd. Sti
Marks Associated
with Goods/Services: MATRIX trademarks registered in class 3.
Nature of Case: Court action instituted for the cancellation of defendant’s G.L.S. MATRIX trademark on grounds of similarity, risk of confusion, risk of association and notoriety
Prior Decisions: Plaintiff's objection for the refusal of G.L.S. MATRIX trademark at the application phase was rejected by the Turkish Patent Institute.
Overview of Decision
and Ruling: The plaintiff claimed that G.L.S MATRIX trademark is confusingly similar to their MATRIX trademarks
The defendant requested the rejection of the action on grounds that the trademarks are not similar
The Court stated the denomination MATRIX constitutes the essential and distinctive part of defendant’s trademark, that the wording “G.L.S” does not have any distinctive character. Therefore G.L.S. MATRIX trademark will lead to confusion in respect of consumers and deceive them as to the origin of trademarks.
The Court accepted the action and decided the cancellation of G.L.S. MATRIX trademark
Importance of Case: -
Images/Description:
Contributor Firm: Deris Law Office