Trademark infringement by trade name

Nowadays, the number of companies` growing causes the increase of the signs that play a big role in the industrial field such as trade name and trademark. The more important the quality of the product and service is, the more effective it is to choose the right trade name and trademark for the success in the commercial area where the competitive environment is dominant. In particular, trademarks play a major role in the growth of the companies and creating of brand image. The fact that both, trademark and trade name, are made of the same or similar signs, in many cases, this situation causes the infringement of the trademark by the trade name. In this study, research has been made by taking into consideration the provisions regarding to the use and protection of trademark and trade name. Firstly, the use of both signs has been discussed and then the situations that cause the violation have been briefly mentioned. However, all forms of use of the trade names, especially in accordance with its own registration purposes, doesn`t cause the infringement. In this study, the situations that cause the infringement of trademarks by trade names are tried to be explained by considering the doctrine and judicial decisions. The main purpose of this study is to clarify the regulation as "prohibition of the use of the trade name as trademark" and express opinions on how determine this situation.