Effort to halt Turkey’s patenting ‘Turkaegean’
Greece is trying to prevent Turkey from patenting its “Turkaegean” trademark used in its tourism campaign in the United States and the European Union. To this end, it has hired Washington, DC-based law firm Steptoe & Johnson, which specializes, among other things, in so-called high-stakes litigation involving trade and border disputes.
Despite Turkey’s disclaimers, Athens views the “Turkaegean” campaign as an attempt to misleadingly influence US and EU opinion regarding Turkey’s claims in the Aegean.
Kathimerini understands that Steptoe & Johnson will prepare a report backing Greece’s claims at a cost of about $70,000. The law firm’s total compensation is unknown.
Greece regards as a positive development the US Patent and Trade Office in February asked for more details in order to stop the patent process. In any case, a final ruling probably won’t be issued until 2025.
