Turkish Olympian seeks to trademark iconic pose
19 September 2024
Turkish Olympic shooter Yusuf Dikec gained worldwide fame after a photo of him taken during the Paris Olympic Games captured global attention. His relaxed stance with one hand in his pocket and no elaborate equipment went viral. The image inspired people to imitate his pose and led to new ideas – soon, his iconic stance began appearing on products like t-shirts and mugs. It was even reported that several trademark applications had been filed for the now-famous pose.
Selma Ünlü | Senior Partner @ NSN Law Firm, Istanbul
“In Türkiye, if a topic or a person starts to get popular, third parties want to benefit from this popularity, and we usually encounter many trademark applications such that the rightful owners cannot register their trademarks due to these kinds of bad faith applications and they have to deal with lawsuits to register their rights,” said Selma Ünlü, a senior partner at NSN Law Firm at Istanbul. “It appears that Yusuf Dikec wanted to prevent his image from being commercialized and registered as a trademark without his consent.”
Regarding this issue, Yusuf Dikec’s trademark attorney: “For all kinds of goods and services that can be imagined, they will now have to use the pose with the permission of Mr. Dikec and by making an agreement. It is a step we have taken to prevent unfair profit.”
“If Yusuf Dikec had not filed an application, we believe that third parties will probably continue to apply for trademarks bearing his image, and this may have caused his image to be registered for someone else,” noted Ünlü. “Additionally, having a registered trademark registered trademark provides a wider scope of protection and ease of proof in many matters.”
With regards to having his stance trademarked, she said that they do not know the type of his application – whether it is a figurative mark like the trademark of Usain Bolt’s famous pose, an image of his stance or a motion mark.
“Even though the criteria for registering a trademark are the same for all types of trademarks, different types of applications could lead to different outcomes both for registering and protecting a trademark,” noted Ünlü. “Although it is not a definitive number, we have detected two trademark applications on the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office’s online database so far. One is a drawing of the famous pose and the other is a photo of Yusuf Dikec in the same pose without a gun but making his hand like a gun. Both applications also include the name Yusuf Dikec. Since these applications have not been published in the Official Trademark Bulletin, we cannot see the applicant’s names at this stage. The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office had provisionally rejected the first one on the ground that it was against public order and morality. This might be because the visual has a gun in his hand. The decision is not final and can be appealed before the Re-Examination and Evaluation Board. The other one, which we believe belongs to Yusuf Dikec, is still under the first examination. If the application passes the ex-officio examination without any refusal, we will be able to see the applicant’s name.”
“Registering photos of real persons as a trademark has some challenges, especially in terms of distinctiveness. However, we saw examples of it. We believe that he will eventually have his stance trademarked,” she added. “If he seeks registration only for his photo, not as a motion mark, the scope of protection of such registration would be narrow. In such a case, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office and the courts will interpret the similarity examination strictly. It is the stance, hence the move, which is essential and protectable here. Therefore, we believe that this protection will not be very effective. Including his name in the application also narrows down the scope of protection,” she said.
- Excel V. Dyquiangco
