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The Barbadian singer's company filed an unfair trademark registration lawsuit in Türkiye's courts after discovering her name had been registered as a trademark by a third party without authorization.
The court ruled that even though "RIANNA" differs from Rihanna's name by just one letter, most people could easily mix them up. Because of this, the trademark was canceled.
Rihanna's lawyers argued that she is well-known worldwide and that the trademark was almost the same as her real name.
They said the small difference was not enough to tell the names apart and could easily confuse consumers.
The defendant claimed the word comes from Arabic and means "beautiful fragrance," asking the court to dismiss the case. But the court focused on protecting consumers and decided confusion was likely.
This decision sets an example for protecting celebrity trademarks in Türkiye from unauthorized use. It shows that courts are willing to protect the unique qualities of famous names.
Other well-known artists have taken similar legal steps. For example, American singer Beyoncé started a trademark case in Türkiye after someone registered her name without permission.
In these cases, courts have decided that using famous names without permission is unfair competition.
Courts have regularly ruled that these kinds of registrations damage the unique qualities of well-known trademarks.
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