Umit Nar, a bookseller from Izmir (west) is being sued by the French luxury house Hermès, which wants to prohibit him from using the name of the Greek god for his shop. (AFP / MERT CAKIR)
David against Goliath on the Turkish coast: Umit Nar, a bookseller from Izmir (west) is being sued by the French luxury house Hermès, which wants to prohibit him from using the name of the Greek god for his shop.
“Hermes, Zeus or Santa Claus belong to the cultural heritage of humanity. No company should be able to monopolize these names so anchored in our collective memory,” protests Umit Nar, contacted by AFP.
It all started in December 2021, when the bookseller wanted to register a trademark for his brand, Bouquiniste Hermes, in business for fifteen years in Istanbul and then in Izmir.
The representative of the luxury leather goods manufacturer in Turkey then contacted TurkPatent, the administration in charge of intellectual property and subsequently, the courts, to prohibit him not only from registering the trademark, but also from any use of the name “Hermès” in its commercial and online activity.
The Parisian brand insists on “the similarity and the risk of confusion” between the two brands despite the difference in sectors of activity.
The first hearing in the ongoing trial took place last month.
-“Ridiculous”-
“If I had opened a shoe or textile store with the name Hermes, it would be understandable. But our fields are so different. Hermès sells luxury leather bags for thousands of euros, and I sell second-hand books at 15 Turkish liras, 45 euro cents,” notes Mr. Nar.
“To claim that we can be confused is ridiculous. It is also an insult to the intelligence of their customers,” said Umit Nar. (AFP / MERT CAKIR)
“To claim that we can be confused is ridiculous. It is also an insult to the intelligence of their customers,” he believes.
While waiting for the second hearing, scheduled for March 27, during which an expert report should be presented, Mr. Nar decided to make himself heard on social networks in the hope of getting the Hermès headquarters in Paris to react.
However, contacted several times by AFP, the house did not respond.
Through a series of messages juxtaposing its brand and that of “Hermès Paris” on “X” (formerly Twitter), the bookseller asks Internet users to call on the Parisian house to ask it to put an end to the proceedings.
For Mr. Nar, who is also president of the Turkish second-hand booksellers’ association, being banned from the name of the son of Zeus, messenger of the Gods and protector of traders, would mean starting his entire activity from scratch.
“More than my real name, most people know me as Bookseller Hermes,” he insists.
For Mr. Nar, being banned from the name of the son of Zeus, messenger of the Gods and protector of traders, would mean starting his entire business from scratch. (AFP / MERT CAKIR)
In addition, he recalls, the god Hermes is also closely associated with the history of Izmir, ancient Smyrna on the Aegean coast, land of many legends of Greek mythology.
“It is not fair that an international company can appropriate a cultural element. I also fight against that,” he says.