19.10.2026 15:30
The heirs of Ayhan Işık, Yeşilçam's "Uncrowned King," filed a lawsuit against the registration of the artist's name as a trademark. An important development occurred in the case. Following the court's injunction decision, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office applied an interim injunction to the "Ayhan Işık Acting School" trademark in İzmir. The trademark cannot be transferred to anyone else until the case is concluded. The expert report submitted to the court also included the opinion that the trademark was registered in bad faith.
Fatma Gülşen Işık, wife of Ayhan Işık, one of the legendary names of Turkish cinema, and his daughter Ayşe Serap Levent have launched a legal battle against the acting school in İzmir that bears the artist's name. In the lawsuit filed by the family in Istanbul, an injunction was placed on the school's registered trademark.
TURKISH PATENT IMPLEMENTED THE INJUNCTION
In its interim decision dated October 1, the Istanbul Anatolia 1st Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights Civil Court ruled to impose an interim injunction to prevent the transfer of the “Ayhan Işık Acting School” trademark, registered in the name of film director Atakan Şatıroğlu, to third parties until the case is concluded. The court made the injunction conditional on the plaintiffs depositing a security of 100,000 lira. The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office also notified the court in its letter that it had applied the interim injunction to the trademark.
EXPERT: IT WAS REGISTERED IN BAD FAITH
In the October 18 report of the expert panel appointed by the court, it was concluded that the trademark, whose application was filed on November 18, 2019, and which was registered on April 9, 2020, was registered “in bad faith” within the scope of the Industrial Property Law. The report stated that if the court rules in this direction, the conditions required for the trademark to be declared invalid have been met. The panel also emphasized that the final legal assessment belongs to the court.
The report also assessed that the defendants used the name Ayhan Işık in their commercial activities without permission and for the purpose of obtaining commercial profit, and that this constituted a violation of the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works. The panel concluded that the defendants' unfair benefit from the artist's fame constituted unfair competition under the Turkish Commercial Code.
THE FAMILY SOUGHT 1 MILLION LIRA IN NON-PECUNIARY DAMAGES
In the lawsuit they filed on September 24, Ayhan Işık's heirs named Atakan Şatıroğlu, his partner Ali Berkay Berkman, İnci Saral Şatıroğlu, and Atakan Şatıroğlu Kuyu Yapım as defendants. The plaintiffs alleged that the artist's name was registered as a trademark in the field of acting education without obtaining permission from them, and that it was used on the school's website, social media accounts, and signs. The petition argued that this use created a misleading impression that the school was connected to the artist or his family.
The family requested that the trademark be declared invalid retroactively from its registration date and removed from the registry. A total of 1 million lira in non-pecuniary damages was sought, 500,000 lira each for Fatma Gülşen Işık and Ayşe Serap Levent. For pecuniary damages, two claims of 1,000 lira each were initially made.
THERE IS ALSO AN ACCESS BLOCKING REQUEST
The plaintiffs also requested that access to the school's website be blocked and that the use of Ayhan Işık's name, photograph, and fame be prohibited by injunction. In its interim decision dated October 1, the court ruled only on the injunction preventing the transfer of the trademark. The requests for access blocking and for preventing the trademark from being asserted against the family were among the matters on which the court requested a report from the expert. Before the lawsuit, the family had also requested an injunction from another court, but that request was rejected. The family appealed this decision.
“WE SHARE FOR COMMEMORATION PURPOSES”
The family also filed a criminal complaint with the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, and the investigation is ongoing. Atakan Şatıroğlu and Ali Berkay Berkman, who gave statements on July 9 as part of the investigation, did not accept the accusations. Şatıroğlu and Berkman, stating that they had jointly operated the Ayhan Işık Acting School since 2013, argued that the trademark was duly registered in 2019 and that no objection was made during the registration process.
Şatıroğlu, who acknowledged that they shared photographs of Ayhan Işık on their social media accounts, said, “The reason for this is that we share posts to remind fans of all deceased actors on the dates they died. This is not only the case for Ayhan Işık. We commemorate artists who have become public figures, such as Kemal Sunal, Zeki Alasya, etc., on their death dates in this way.” Şatıroğlu claimed that the complaint was made “in bad faith and with the aim of trying to obtain financial gain.”