Department of Business Administration

BUSINESS LAW
TRADE NAME &
COMMERCIAL
ENTERPRISE NAME
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S.Arzu IZ BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313 Spring 2020

 Trade Name
In the book

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Commercial
Enterprise Trademark

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

Name

Legal Name

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American
Trade
Style Name
Trademark

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 Trade Name (Legal Name)-Ticaret Unvanı

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 The legal name of the business that needs to be
registered and used in official interactions

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

 Commercial Enterprise Name (Trade
Name)- İşletme Adı
 A name business uses for advertising and sales
purposes that is different from the legal name
specified in its articles of association or other legal

Spring 2020
documents. It is often the name the general public
sees on signs, the internet and advertisement

 Trademark-Marka
 is any word, phrase, design or symbol that a business
used to distinguish its goods& services from someone 3
else’s and to indicate the source of the good
TRADE NAME (LEGAL NAME)

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Name that merchants used in their commercial

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313


activities
 Trade name is a must for traders
 It is used to distinguish one merchant from another
 A tradename must not be same as any registered
It has to represent the reality -field of the company

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
-Name of the merchant
-usage of proper ending

 Tradename has two components: 1) Core

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2) Annex
CORE FOR NATURAL PERSON TRADERS

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NAME+SURNAME of the merchant

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

Abbreviation cannot be used

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Ex: Name of the merchant is ‘Mehmet Can’
Trade name  Mehmet Can
M.Can 5
FOR ORDINARY PARTNERSHIPS

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It doesn’t have a different legal personality from its

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

partners
NAME+SURNAME of the partners

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Ex: Name of the partners are ‘Mehmet Can’ and
‘Ahmet Can’
Trade name  Mehmet Can and Ahmet Can OR
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Mehmet Can and Partner
FOR COLLECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS&
COMMANDITE COMPANIES (LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP)

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 COLLECTIVE PARTNERSHIP
Names+ Surnames of Partners or TYPE

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

At least one of them

Ex: Mehmet Can and Ahmet Can Collective Partnership

OR Mehmet Can& Partner Collective Partnership (If
there is more than one partner “Partners”)

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 COMMANDITE COMPANIES (Limited Partnership)
In commandite companies not all partners are fully
liable (dormant partner) so at least
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One name and surname of a liable partner + TYPE
JOINT STOCK, LIMITED COMPANIES
& COOPERATIVES

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 Company trade names can be freely determined
 It is obligatory to mention the field of the

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

company+ TYPE
 If a name of a real person is going to be used
abbreviations cannot be used

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Ex.: Mehmet Can Tourism Limited Company
Mehmet Can Tourism Ltd.

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ASSOCIATIONS, FOUNDATIONS AND
ASSOCIATION OF SHIP OWNERS

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 Associations, foundations& similar entities will
use their original name

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

Ex.: Turkish Redcresent Mineral Water
Enterprises

 Ship Owners Association (Donanma İştiraki)

At least name of one owner or name of the

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ship+TYPE
Name of the ship can not be abbreviated

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ANNEXES

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 Can be attached OR needed to be attached to
trade names in order to distinguish trade name

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

from others that have been previously registered.

 Annexes that indicate the characteristics of the

commercial enterprise, or the identity of the

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people may be inscribed in the trade name

 Fictional names can be incorporated in a trade

name as an annex
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TYPES OF ANNEXES

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1) Traits of the Enterprise
Ex: Organic Farming Mehmet Can

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

2) Traits of the Merchant
Ex: Chemist Mehmet Can Pharmaceutical Factory

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3) Fictional Name
Ex.: QWERTY Tourism Mehmet Can

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 Cannot be misleading identity, size,

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importance, financial status
Ex. Small enterprise using “Factory” as an annex

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

Using the name or the well known
abbreviation of a multi-national company
(unless you are that company)
 Cannot be untrue or against public order

Ex. Atatürk name cannot be used as annex to a

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trade name
 Usage of “TURKEY”- “TURK”- “REPUBLIC” OR
“NATIONAL” requires permission of President
(Türkiye-Türk-Cumhuriyet-Milli)
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 Branches must use centers name with indicating they

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
are branch
Ex.: İş Bankası ODTU Şubesi –

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

The Chase Manhattan Bank N.A., Headquarters:
New York, İstanbul Branch

Companies in liquidation must add “In Liquidation”

annex to their trade name
Ex.: QWERTY Tourism Mehmet Can-In Liquidation

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Esse Kimya Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi - Tasfiye
Halinde

 Similar names that will cause confusion cannot be

registered
http://www.ticaretsicilgazetesi.gov.tr/sorgu_acik.php 13
 S.Arzu IZ
 Register in 15 days to Trade Registry (Document
that includes trade name and signature that will

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

be used with it should be notarized and presented
to the trade registry- İmza sirküleri)

 Have to use it in every transaction

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 Have to write it somewhere visible at the
premises

 An old trade name cannot be used before 5 years

after it is ceased 14
PROTECTION OF THE TRADE NAME

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 Registry is required for protection under art.52 of
TCC

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

 For unregistered trade names protection under
“unfair competition” is possible (Article 54 TCC)
 If a real person name is used protection under
Turkish Civil Code art.26 is possible

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 Using a registered trade name of someone else as
a domain name will be considered as a trade
infringement of the trade name

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 In case of infringement:

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

Declaratory action

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313


 Prohibition of usage
 If the misapplied and unjustly used trade name had
been registered the legal holder of the trade name
can ask modification or deletion in accordance with
law

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 Elimination of the financial situation resulted from
this unjust usage
 If a damage occurred material or immaterial
compensation

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TRANSFER OF TRADE NAME

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 Unless otherwise stated in transfer contract

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

trade name will also be transferred with the
transfer of the enterprise.
 New owner of the enterprise can use the same
trade name without changing it.
 If trade name is kept (not transfered) it cannot be

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separately transferred. And if it is somehow
transferred separately transfer will be void.
 However, commercial enterprise name can be
transferred apart from the enterprise
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COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE NAMES

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 Commercial enterprise name is different than trade

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

name. Trade name is directly related to the trader.
Traders can but not have to have a commercial
enterprise name.
 Commercial enterprise names are not only related
to traders. Craftsperson can also use commercial

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enterprise name.
 If a commercial enterprise name used by merchant
or craftsperson it should be registered and rules in
article 38,45,47,50,51 and 52 TCC
 Commercial enterprise name can be transfered
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without transferring the enterprise itself.
ENDING NOTES

S.Arzu IZ
 What was the most important thing you
learned today?

BA 4106-5106/ BAS 313

 “What was the most confusing topic
today?”

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 Whatimportant question remains
unanswered?

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