Beware of Coca-Cola imported from Turkey!!!

Selling Coca-Cola imported from Turkey in Spain without the trade mark owner's authorisation is problematic.

As we have become very cautious lately, before we start selling any imported product in Spain we always consult our lawyer, David Pellisé.

And this is how clearly he put it when we asked him about the legality of Coca-Cola imported from Turkey:

The EU and Turkey have had a customs union agreement since 1994. This agreement provides for the free movement of goods from both parties. But there is also DECISION No 1/95 OF THE EC-TURKEY ASSOCIATION COUNCIL of 22 December 1995 on implementing the final phase of the Customs Union, which develops the agreement and states that "this Decision does not entail the exhaustion of intellectual, industrial and commercial property rights between the two Contracting Parties. " (Article 10(2) of Annex 8 to the Decision; Article 31 of the Decision).

All this means that putting Coca-Cola on the market in Turkey does not exhaust the trade mark rights within the EEA (European Economic Area), and therefore:

Coca-Cola Iberian Partners can take legal action to stop Coca-Cola from Turkey being sold in Spain.

David Pellisé,

Pellisé Abogados
Avda. Diagonal 529, ático 1ª
08029 Barcelona
Tel. +34 93 439 32 07
Fax +34 93 405 37 51
pellise@pellise.es