Unfaır Competıtıon Law

Turkish Commercial Code, Article 56 states that “Unfair Competition is misappropriation of every description of economical competition by means of fraudulent or other mala fide acts”. 

Major unfair competition situations are described as 10 Paragraphs in Turkish Commercial Code, Article 57. The most important of them is ambiguity, which is regulated by Article 57/5. 

Ambiguity is described as causing mislead or confuse by creating similarity pertaining to another one’s goods, business products, business activities and commercial enterprise. Ambiguity takes place by means of getting injustice profit from another one’s labor by means of taking advantage of name, title, trademark or shape and appearance of goods, composition and color of packaging belonging to another enterprise having a good name and market share and also using the same or imitation of them. In case getting injustice profit from another one’s labor and customers exists, an unfair competition takes place. 
Ambiguous situations generally takes places by means of imitation of trade titles and trademarks. It is possible to mislead the Customer by using a same or an unrecognizable different form of famous trademarks or trade titles. In this, a medium level customer is considered in addition, the Customer that the item address is important. If the item addresses to adults or children or a certain class the problem should be solved by considering the specifications of these people and class per concrete event.

Ambiguity may take place not only in names, titles and trademarks but also in packing compositions of the goods issued. However, the Supreme Court of Appeal, although there are differences between products in the view of trademarks, there can be an ambiguity in the view of color, dimensions and composition use in their packaging, has demanded an investigation to be launched in order to determine the Customers that these goods address and if it is possible to make a discrimination between in the Customer under the full age and the normal Customer. 

TURKISH COMMERCIAL CODE

Article 57/5 

The definition of the unfair act which is of our interest in respect of this case is defined in article 57/5 of Turkish Commercial Code as follows under the title of actions not 
compliant with the principles of good will : 

“To attempt to create imitations by means of the commodities, products, activities or commercial enterprise owned by others or resorting to measures to facilitate it, especially to use the name. Commercial, title, trademark, mark or other promotional means fairly used by others or to sell the commodities which cause imitation either knowingly or not knowingly or to posses the same due to whatsoever reason other than personal use shall be considered as the actions not compliant with the principles of good will.”

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