97 Union of Turkish Bar Associations Review 2023 Dilara Naz GÜLÜM word “namely,” it is acknowledged that this expression is limited to the goods and services that follow it. For example, the phrase “Toys, especially toys in the form of model airplanes” encompasses all toys, while the phrase “Electronic devices, namely portable music players” does not cover all electronic devices.46 In cases where the compared goods partially overlap, according to Part C, Section 2, Chapter 2, Paragraph 2.4 of the EUIPO Guidelines, if the separation of categories by the Office is not possible, they will be considered as the “identical goods/services.” For instance, online banking services and commercial banking services intersect in terms of “online commercial banking services,” and if it is not possible for the Office to separate them, they will be considered identical. 2. Concept of Same Type of Goods/Services When the products under comparison are not identical, but categorizing them merely as “similar” is not sufficient due to the intensity of their degree of similarity, , then the term “same type” will be used.47 As mentioned before, according to the Communiqué on Classification Article 3/4, the groups listed in the annex of the Communiqué will be taken into consideration for determining the same type of goods/services. The Court of Cassation also states that goods and services within the same sub-group should be considered as the same type.48 Therefore, for instance, disinfectant soaps and antibacterial hand lotions within the same sub-group belonging to Class 5 could be characterized as the “same type.” In trademark law, the core principle is to associate the sign with the product, and the classification system serves as a means to achieve this.49 Therefore, automatically considering products within the same general category as “identical products” would not be accurate. for illustrative purposes; therefore, in the evaluation of similarity of goods/services, the general wording should be taken as the basis. See. 2021 Guideline, p. 390 46 2021 Guideline, p. 220; EUIPO, Guidelines for Examination of European Union Trademarks, Part C, Section 2, Chapter 2, para. 2.3.2. 47 Paslı, p. 55, 56. 48 Court of Cassation 11th Civil Chamber, D. 16.01.2015, Case No. 2014/15359 Judgment No. 2015/503 (Kazancı Case Law Database, Last accessed: 06.06.2021). 49 Paslı, p. 57.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQ3OTE1