Trademarks are a part of trading and our daily lives. It is the most natural right of consumers to distinguish between the products they use, to know who produced them and what their ingredients are. On the other hand, companies that produce these brands aim to distinguish their products from other brands, to determine the standards of their own products, to make profit in line with the demands of the market and to protect them against any infringement .Therefore, the registration of a brand is important for both the consumer and the manufacturer of that brand.
The law describes brand as a form, description of a particular type of commodity or product, or a trademark, title, symbol, tag, name, signature, word, letter, number, or any combination thereof. From this point of view, we can define the brand as any sign such as shape, picture, graphic or drawing which is used to differentiate a product from other products.
Whether an owner of a brand is a TRNC citizen or not, trademarks are registered in the Registrar of Trademarks located in the Official Receiver and Registrar department. The Official Receiver and Registrar holds a register for trademark registration and keeps the two parts, A and B, of the registration record under its own supervision and control. This register is open to public investigation during the working hours. The Official Receiver and Registrar have divided the trademarks into 34 different groups according to their types. The application for registration of a trademark must be made separately for each brand.
A person who has registered a trademark shall have the exclusive right and authority to use the merchandise related to that trademark. Therefore, the use of a trademark without the permission of the registered owner in which the trademark is identical, or so strikingly similar or that the consumer is deceived as to the products in relation to which the trademark is registered for and/or using, referring to or perceiving the registered products of that brand in advertisements or advertisements in relation to the products to which that trademark is associated, will infringe the registered trademark.
