Gülenist NBA player found to have registered trademarks

One of the most famous supporters of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), prominent NBA player Enes Kanter's main objectives have been revealed following the July 15 coup attempt. Kanter, who even disowned his own family for the terror group, has more than just spiritual ties with FETÖ.

The Sabah daily has found documents suggesting that just two months before the coup attempt, Kanter registered the trademark and commercial rights to his name to the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI). The said documents indicate that Kanter registered trademarks to TPI in about 6,000 items carrying his name. Receiving trademark protection in various commercial fields from toilet paper to accessories, from bleach to electronics, Kanter is estimated to have spent about TL 100,000 ($33,000) for all these transactions.

According to TPI records, Kanter made his first application on Sept. 5, 2015 and asked for registrations in over 6,000 trading codes in 25 different groups. Applications were approved on June 2 this year, about a month before FETÖ's coup attempt on July 15. The address that Kanter used in his applications also revealed FETÖ's post-coup schemes.

The said address points at a place called the Niagara Foundation, a FETÖ-linked institution operating in the U.S. The foundation located on N. Michigan Street, Chicago is believed to have been established by FETÖ leader Fethullah Gülen in 2004 and is linked to about 30 countries. The fact that Kanter used a FETÖ-linked foundation for his application address displays the commercial network that the terror group would have established in the aftermath of the coup attempt.

Patent experts have described Kanter's trademark applications as "a record number," and suggested that the records show the size of a commercial network that would have been established across Turkey if the coup had succeeded. The experts also noted that Kanter, who was planning to return to Turkey with terror-group leader Gülen, would have been turned into a brand and a powerful trade player.

The trademark registrations applied to the TPI are seen as the first step prior to starting a business. All businesses operating within Turkey initially have to get trademark registration from the institution.

The highlights among 6,000 items applied by Kanter for trademark registration in his own name are bleach, toothpaste, wood polishing, pharmaceuticals, diapers, fungus destroyer, conditioner, television, camera recorders, sunglasses, lenses, lighting equipment, toilet paper, condoms, generators, kettles, nurseries, schools, pipes, cigars, live animals and food.