Italian actress Monica Bellucci in legal war with Turkish firm over her name
Italian actress Monica Bellucciâs attempt to register her name as a brand in Turkey â as she has done in other countries â has revealed that a local businessman acquired the rights to her name in Turkey 11 years ago.
An international company handling patent proceedings of the globally-acclaimed movie star found out that local entrepreneur, Arafat Yazıcı, registered the name âMonica Bellucciâ with the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI).
According to brand registry information on the TPIâs website, Yazıcıâs company is one of the hundreds of textile companies in Istanbulâs Laleli neighborhood.
As Yazıcı refused to give up his rights on the brand, the actress immediately took action and filed a lawsuit against the company using her name.
âMy client is a world-wide famous star and we request the âMonica Belluciâ brand registered in the name of the defendant be nullified, as well as this brand be removed from the registry,â Bellucciâs lawyer said in the lawsuit petition.
Responding to allegations, Yazıcıâs lawyer Mustafa Göksu defended his client, saying he registered the brand in 2003 âbecause he thought the name sounded nice.â
âHe didnât have any bad intentions while registering the name [and he did not] know who Monica Belluci was,â Göksu said. âMy client has been investing in and spending for this brand since then [2003],â he added. The trial, however, has been postponed as the court has asked for the defendant to provide the necessary documents.
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