TVF sues TPAO for celebrating the national team

TPAO congratulated the Women’s National Volleyball Team on social media, which was proclaimed champion by winning the matches of the 2023 CEV European Championship and the 2023 Women’s Volleyball Nations League.

UNFAIR PROFITS CLAIM

TVF’s lawyers, who found the TPAO logo together with TVF below the photo used in the congratulatory message malicious and sent a warning letter, listed their accusations as follows: “Your company has made unfair profits through our Federation without obtaining permission from TVF and without bearing any burden, and has made false claims against our Federation or National Association through misleading advertising.” It is obvious that the teams act as if they were sponsors even though you are not their sponsor, thus unfairly benefiting from the image rights of our Federation and National Teams and damaging the rights of our Federation’s sponsors who operate in the same sector. We advise you to contact our Federation within 7 business days of being notified of this notice regarding compensation for unfair and unauthorized use, otherwise we will take legal action to compensate for the damage.” TVF also cited the ‘unfair competition action’ decision by Civil Chamber 11 of the Supreme Court of Appeals in 2014 for a company that acted as if it were the sponsor of the national team.

‘We celebrate with national spirit’

In the response letter sent to TVF, TPAO management stated that TPAO is a public company whose priority is not to make profits and that it is 100 percent publicly owned, and that the institution cannot be associated with unfair competition claims from no way. In the article, “We share posts to celebrate the championship in national spirit, share the great enthusiasm and congratulate both our athletes and TVF for their success. We received the notice with surprise. “From now on we will continue to celebrate national achievements with enthusiasm, without involving TVF.”