The European Union’s Board of Appeal at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has issued a final ruling rejecting Turkey’s appeal against the cancellation and deletion of the trademark Turkaegean. The decision marks a definitive legal victory for Greece, with Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis hailing it as “the most beautiful gift” to mark the anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople on 29 May.
A Final Legal Closure
The Turkish government had challenged EUIPO’s earlier January 2025 decision—which annulled and erased the Turkaegean trademark—by filing an appeal with the EU’s specialized Board of Appeal. That appeal has now been dismissed, confirming the cancellation and ending the legal dispute at the EU level.
Greek Initiative and Legal Strategy
The case originated on 16 July 2021, when Turkey’s Tourism Promotion and Development Agency filed an application to register Turkaegean as an EU trademark. In response, Greece’s Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation (OBI), under the supervision of the Ministry of Development, coordinated a formal opposition. In February 2023, while serving as Minister of Development and Investments, Adonis Georgiadis submitted the official cancellation request to EUIPO, citing legal, historical, and commercial grounds—including the term’s misleading geographical connotations and lack of distinctiveness.
Georgiadis described today’s ruling as “a major national success”, thanking OBI’s legal team and its former leadership for their work. “The use of this term by Turkey is now globally unlawful,” he stated.
Official Reaction from Athens
Current Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos welcomed the decision as “a vindication of our national positions”. He emphasized that the EU’s second-tier review reaffirmed that Turkaegean “lacks any legal or commercial basis”—a conclusion rooted in objective assessment, not political coincidence.
The ruling underscores that the term cannot function as a valid EU trademark, reinforcing Greece’s longstanding stance on the protection of geographical and cultural references tied to the Aegean region.