Turkish Olympic pistol sharpshooter Yusuf Dikec has taken legal steps to trademark his distinctive, nonchalant stance, which gained international attention during the Paris Games.
According to Dikec’s coach, Erdinc Bilgili, the move to secure the rights to this pose through the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office was prompted by unauthorized attempts by others to register it. “We learned of multiple attempts to trademark his stance without his consent and responded by filing our application about a week ago,” Bilgili stated, noting that these other applications have since been rejected.
Dikec’s calm demeanour during the competition has become a viral sensation and inspired numerous memes and public recreations, including one by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The stance, which Dikec claims he uses to stabilize his body and maintain balance, was mimicked by Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson during a Premier League match against Crystal Palace.
Following his achievement of winning Turkey’s first mixed-team 10m air pistol silver medal with teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, various merchandise featuring his likeness, such as T-shirts, mugs, and phone covers, began appearing on the market, as reported by TRT Haber.
According to the latest updates from AFP, the Turkish trademark office has yet to comment on this filing. Dikec reiterated in an earlier interview that his iconic stance is purely functional, aimed at enhancing his shooting precision by improving balance.
