Deceptive trademarks that cause public to deceive

Globalization is accelerated with the help of the recent technologies. As the result of this globalization, corporations and individuals want to increase their brands and services' popularity and recognition through different geographical locations, draw attention of the target consumer, thus reach out to a wider audience. However, while technological improvements and globalization created a fast and easy access for numerous brands, they also put the consumer in a place which is highly open to deception. For this reason, legislators try to prevent the deception of the consumer, by putting various provisions in the law. In terms of deceptive trademarks, which is also the subject of this thesis, firstly, the definition of the concept of trademark, its elements, functions and types, and the international agreements to which our country is a party and which are the source of legal regulations regarding the protection of trademarks will be discussed. Then, the case in which a deceptive brand, good or service in terms of qualification, quality and geographical origin will be reviewed. At this stage, various verdict examples will be given from Supreme Court and foreigner courts. Lastly, types of possible lawsuits against deceptive trademarks will be mentioned. The reason behind the deceptive trademarks, which is also an absolute ground for refusal, is chosen as the subject of this thesis is, lack of scientific work on the topic and also to show the kind of problems the signs used by companies, to gain recognition and improve sales, may cause for both consumers and proprietors, and why companies should not be deceptive, supported by sample decisions.