‘Turkaegean’ gains ground

Turkey has applied to trademark the contentious term ‘Turkaegean’ – used in a tourism campaign – in 84 more countries around the world, after receiving European Union approval last December. They include Canada, China, Montenegro, Morocco, Russia, Switzerland and Uzbekistan, among others.

“The message is not neutral, neither from a political or communications point of view, Theodoros Georgopoulos, a lawyer and director of the Greek Wine Association who specializes in trademark law, told Kathimerini, dismissing efforts to play down Turkey’s move. “If it is registered in multiple countries, ‘Turkaegean’ will become the brand of the country’s tourism office.”

“At the legal level, the Greek state needs to submit objections, while at the diplomatic level it needs to explain that the specific moves are part of a more general framework of revisionism and tension in the Aegean region… It is important that this argument is heard by the judge who will deal with the matter in a country on the other side of the world,” he adds.