Trademark Infringement in Free Zones or Transit
Işık Özdoğan, December 2004 / INTA Bulletin

On 13.02.2004, The Turkish Supreme Court ruled in case 2004/1201 that counterfeit goods in transit or placed in free zones constitute a trademark infringement.

The court held that free zones are considered to be within the territorial borders of Turkey. Therefore, there is no exemption for enforcing trademark rights against the infringer who are based in free zones. The court also added that not only export and import of counterfeit goods, but also transit passage of counterfeit goods, constitute a trademark infringement in pursuant to the Turkish Trademark Law, Article 9/II/c. The court also stated that TRIPs Agreement imposes an obligation on signatory states to dispose such goods outside of the commercial channels.

In light of the above, the court’s holding is that keeping counterfeit goods in Free Zones for commercial purposes constitute both trademark infringement and crime.

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