Italian actress takes her name back in Turkey

ISTANBUL

Italian actress Monica Bellucci has won a lawsuit against a Turkish businessman who acquired the rights to her name in Turkey years ago, thus paving the way for her to acquire the right to use her own name in Turkey.

Bellucci attempted to register her name as a brand in Turkey eight years ago, as she had done in other countries, but was unable to do so as a local businessman had obtained the rights to the name in 2003.

An international company that handles patent proceedings for the globally acclaimed movie star discovered that a local entrepreneur, Arafat Yazıcı, had registered the name “Monica Bellucci” with the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI).

According to brand registry information on the TPI’s website, Yazıcı’s company is one of the hundreds of textile companies in Istanbul’s Laleli neighborhood.

As Yazıcı refused to give up his rights to the brand, the actress took action and filed a lawsuit against the company using her name. A court has now made a decision in her favor, nullifying the patent right owned by the Turkish businessman.

Yazıcı’s lawyer had previously defended his client, saying he registered the brand in 2003 “because he thought the name sounded nice.”