The Turkish Patent Institute (TPE) has not approved applications for beverage brand name “Cola Kurda” because it found resemblances to the emblem of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the product’s name and colors.
The most recent patent application was made by Ramazan Aslan, who named the beverage “Cola Kurda” and used yellow, green and red colors in its emblem together with a star symbol -- bringing to mind the colors used by the PKK.
The Akşam daily stated yesterday that Aslan had applied to the TPE in 2007, but that the TPE had refused the application because “it was against the public order and general ethics.” To Turkey’s dismay, Cola Kurda has been offered in Iraq and on Kurdistan Airlines, which is operated by the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq.
The first patent application to the TPA for Cola Kurda was made in 2003 by Akıl Good Industry and Commerce (Akıl Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret). The application was repeated in 2004 by Ahmet Doğan, who also asked for the approval of brand names on some textile products.
Meanwhile, the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Agency (TAPDK) has been evaluating an application for the Kurdish “Roj Beer.” A patent for the beer has not been given yet because the brand name and brand colors are also seen as allusions to the PKK, and because the product slogan, “One sip of freedom,” is found to be disturbing.