Registering ‘pharmacist’ name as trademark sparks reaction from sector representatives

Mert Gökhan Koç ANKARA

Eczacıbaşı Chairman Bülent Eczacıbaşı delivers a speech during an innovation meeting on May 28. His surname means ‘chief pharmacist’ in Turkish.

Turkish pharmaceuticals company Eczacıbaşı has registered the word “eczacı” – pharmacist in Turkish – as a trademark, triggering reactions from other sector representatives.

Well-established Turkish business group Eczacıbaşı registered 45 different versions of the word as a trademark with an application to the Turkish Patent Institute (TPE).

In a statement, the company explained the move as “an attempt to prevent unfair competition through using the word.”

“It is known that the eczacı brand/title brings Eczacıbaşı to mind as an abbreviation,” the company said, accusing a sports club in Ankara of using the name to gain an advantage, referring to the Eczacı Sports Club.

“We have fought against this situation for over 10 years, even applying to the Chamber of Pharmacists to warn against this unfair competition. The only aim is to prevent unfair competition by using a work that denotes the Eczacıbaşı name,” the firm said, insisting it had no intention of using the trademark registry as a legal basis to take action against an occupational group.

However, prominent sector representatives objected to the move, claiming the situation could create problems for the use of the word “eczacı.”

The Ankara Chamber of Pharmacists has moved to stop the company from being the sole user of the word by filing a lawsuit at the Istanbul 3rd Intellectual and Industrial Rights Court, which ordered a temporary injunction.

The chamber’s head, Süleyman Güneş, said giving an occupational group’s name to a company would affect the whole sector, even raising questions over the name of the Pharmaceutical Faculty.