Plain packaging has become a hot topic in Turkey as
controlling the consumption of tobacco has been one of the top
priorities of the Turkish government. The government has
adopted the 2015-2018 National Programme and Action Plan for
Tobacco Control, which stipulates the implementation of
necessary provisions related to plain packaging into the
relevant legislation.
The Ministry of Health added a provision in relation to
standardised packaging to the draft omnibus bill in 2016.
However, the Ministry later announced the removal of the
provision based on the reason that it has been adopted by
Australia only, the efficiency of this measure is debatable and
there is a possibility of facing lawsuits by tobacco companies
based on the international trade laws as reported by the
Turkish media. Although there is no legislation introduced by
the government so far, considering the new announcements made
by the Minister of Health, plain packaging is expected to be
adopted, in the light of the decisions of some countries which
adopted laws with such provisions and studies proving the
efficiency of the measure.
Beside the uncertainty about whether plain packaging will be
adopted, several arguments have been raised on how it will
affect the trade mark law. Proponents of plain packaging could
argue that the removal of colourful elements from tobacco packs
due to standardised packaging is compatible with Article 5/1
(f) of the Turkish Industrial Property Code, which stipulates
that signs that are capable of misleading the public about the
nature, quality and geographical origin of the goods and
services cannot be registered, since those colourful signs
– especially the ones in light colours – can
be deceptive and create an impression that a particular tobacco
is less hazardous than others.
On the other hand, it could be also argued that plain
packaging jeopardises the function of trade marks of indicating
the origin of goods and prevents the customers from making
choices by distinguishing the goods of one company from the
goods of other companies, which is the fundamental function of
a trade mark. It might be also asserted that standardising the
appearance of the tobacco packs and limiting the use of trade
marks only to standard texts risks brand image. In addition to
these, although it is stated that trade marks can still be
registered despite the plain packaging implementations,
opponents could argue that standardised packaging annihilates
the right of the owners to enjoy and use their trade marks in
the form they are registered. Considering the Turkish
government's determination to prevent prevalence of tobacco
consumption, it is likely that Turkey will soon introduce plain
packaging as a tool to control tobacco use. However, the effect
of this measure to the trade mark law seems to continue to be a
hot topic for discussion in Turkey in the coming years.
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İstanbul, Turkey
Tel: + (90) (212) 354 00 00
Fax: + (90) (212) 274 20 95
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