After the earthquake in the “hard” core of the Greek-Turkish people this led to a regime of complete silence, with the entire dispute moving to discussions expected to take place after the election, most likely after the summer. Although a few days ago both Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu were quick to point out that the current restrained framework would not last long, Athens is suggesting that at least until September we will live without shocks.

In the meantime, however, the two sides of the Aegean will continue to compete for the tourist season.n whose income, especially at this particular stage, is valuable. In recent months, Ankara has been trying to advertise the Turkish Aegean coast as the “Turkish Aegean.” with the well-known trademark “Turkeganka”, which is widely used, since the request for its registration was submitted in the US, and in the EU it has already been granted. In Athens, there are now reasonable hopes that the process of registering the trademark “Turkegay” in the United States may be delayed even until 2025, as it is assumed that the actions taken by Greek diplomacy can give some results. This, of course, remains to be seen.

What stage is this particular case currently in?; The Greek legation in Washington is fighting a tough and marathon fight with experienced Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou as the most important cog in an attempt to block the recognition of “Turkish” as a trademark for use in the US. In the correspondence of the Greek Embassy in Washington from January until a few days ago at the end of March with the competent Ministry of Development and, of course, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which today publishes “K”there are some details of the case, the decision on which may be taken at the end of July.

For its representation, the Greek side hired Steptoe, a company with an international reputation and extensive experience in commercial arbitration cases or assertion of rights before state bodies. Although the total amount of Steptoe’s fee is not known, it can be inferred that the Greek side, represented by the Industrial Property Organization (OBI), commissioned a study from Steptoe worth about $70,000 to establish that the Turks were misleading US authorities with the term “Turkic” with alien goal to influence American public opinion at the expense of Greece. In this regard, it is required to hire a competent linguist.

Of course, it was also suggested to explore the possibility of the Greek side requesting the opinion of two universities of international prestige, namely the British historians David Abulafia (Cambridge University) and Mark Masauer (Columbia University), who will obviously be scouted to contribute to own knowledge. In particular, David Abulafia’s The Great Sea, also known to the general public, is a scholarly work on the time of the Mediterranean with several aspects of interest to the Greek public, such as the assessment that the war that led to the Asia Minor Catastrophe was basically a fratricidal conflict. The work of Mark Mazauer is of course more widely known in Greece.

The Greek side hired Steptoe, a company with an international reputation for commercial arbitration or infringement claims.

The file, prepared by an American company on behalf of Athens, includes excerpts from various recent statements by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to support the Greek argument that the attempt to obtain the Turkegey trademark represents an act of geopolitical expediency on the part of the Turkish side.

Around mid-February, the competent authority of the United States Trademark Office (the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Judicial and Appeals Board) sought further clarification from the Greek side regarding the objection filed on its behalf by Steptoe. The company, according to a posting by Ms. Papadopoulou in Athens, rated the USPTO’s response to the request for clarification as positive, as “it indicates that Turkey’s initial consumer misleading and dishonest arguments were deemed to be sufficiently substantiated.” “.

In previous discussions, the Turkish side indirectly rejected the specific Greek argument. And this is because, as can be seen from the passage highlighted today by “K”, the assessment is formulated that “the opposition is politicizing the simple process of registering a trademark, trying to introduce territorial disputes between two peoples in front of a completely incapacitated mechanism.” And, as Ms. Papadopoulou continues in her informational telegram (only 29 pages of the whole file), the Turks claim that “the term ‘Turkic’ is not misleading and is already registered as a trademark in the EU.” and in fact without causing any objections from Greece.

Actions in the EU

It is worth noting that the Greek side in the previous period of time also filed an objection with the competent authority of the European Commission (European Union Intellectual Property Office – EUIPO). In fact, an attempt was made from Athens to contact the lawyers who deal with this issue in America, those who represent the Greek side in the case, so the argument is the same on both sides of the Atlantic. What will happen; It’s too early to answer. However, as can be seen from the way the Turkish authorities are dealing with this issue, “Turkezhets” is already at the forefront of the tourist season’s march to the lacy shores on the other side of the Aegean…