Intellectual Property Law

Trade mark protection under the Industrial Property Code (Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu – SMK, No. 6769) is obtained through registration (Industrial Property Act (Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu – SMK, Law No. 6769) art. 7 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). The application is filed with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu – TÜRKPATENT). The application contains the applicant's identification details, a representation of the trade mark, a list of goods and services, and information showing that the application fee has been paid (SMK art. 11 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). Goods and services are classified according to the Nice Agreement; each application may request the registration of only one trade mark.

The term of protection of a registered trade mark is ten years from the filing date and is renewed for successive ten-year periods (Industrial Property Act (Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu – SMK, Law No. 6769) art. 23 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). The renewal request is made within the six months preceding the expiry of the term of protection, and information that the renewal fee has been paid is submitted to the Office. If this period is missed, renewal may be made within six months of expiry upon payment of an additional fee. The rights in a trade mark that is not renewed in time expire (SMK art. 28 (Official text, opens in a new tab)).

An opposition may be filed against a trade mark application published in the Bulletin within two months of the publication date (Industrial Property Act (Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu – SMK, Law No. 6769) art. 18 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). The opposition is filed with the Office in writing, stating the grounds. The opposition fee must be paid within the same period and information on the payment submitted to the Office. If the grounds are not submitted in time, the opposition is deemed not to have been filed.

The right holder may ask the court to establish, prevent and stop the infringement, to award compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, and to order the seizure of infringing products (Industrial Property Act (Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu – SMK, Law No. 6769) art. 149 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). Trade mark infringement is also a criminal offence; for a penalty to be imposed, the trade mark must be registered in Türkiye (SMK art. 30 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). The investigation of these offences requires a complaint, and the time limit for the complaint is six months from learning of the act and the offender (Turkish Criminal Code (Türk Ceza Kanunu – TCK, Law No. 5237) art. 73 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). A trade mark owner who has remained silent for five years despite knowing of the use of a later trade mark cannot invoke their trade mark as a ground for invalidity, unless there is bad faith (SMK art. 25 (Official text, opens in a new tab)).

The Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works (Fikir ve Sanat Eserleri Kanunu – FSEK, No. 5846) does not make the protection of works conditional on registration. If they wish, authors may have their work recorded with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; this recording in particular makes it easier to prove ownership of rights (Act on Intellectual and Artistic Works (Fikir ve Sanat Eserleri Kanunu – FSEK, Law No. 5846) art. 13 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). Protection lasts for the author's lifetime and for 70 years after their death (FSEK art. 27 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). If the original author is a legal entity, the term of protection is 70 years from the date the work was made public.

A trade mark that, without a justified reason, has not been put to genuine use in Türkiye within five years of the registration date, or whose use has been suspended for an uninterrupted period of five years, may be revoked (Industrial Property Act (Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu – SMK, Law No. 6769) art. 9 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). Since 10 January 2024, revocation requests have been filed with TÜRKPATENT (SMK art. 26 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). Use with the consent of the trade mark owner and use solely for export purposes also count as use. Use that is begun in anticipation of a revocation request is disregarded if it falls within the three months preceding the request.

For a patent, the invention must be new, involve an inventive step and be industrially applicable (Industrial Property Act (Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu – SMK, Law No. 6769) art. 82 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). For a utility model, novelty and industrial applicability are sufficient; chemical, biological, pharmaceutical and biotechnological inventions and processes cannot be protected by a utility model (SMK art. 142 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). The term of protection is 20 years for a patent and 10 years for a utility model, and cannot be extended (SMK art. 101 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). If the annual fees for a patent are not paid when due, they may be paid within six months with an additional fee; if this period is also missed, the patent right lapses.

A disclosure made by the inventor within the twelve months preceding the filing date (or the priority date, if priority is claimed) does not affect the grant of a patent or utility model (Industrial Property Act (Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu – SMK, Law No. 6769) art. 84 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). Anyone wishing to rely on this exception must prove that the conditions are met. If an application is filed in Türkiye within twelve months of the first application in a country party to the Paris Convention or the World Trade Organization, the right of priority may be claimed (SMK art. 93 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). Disclosures outside these periods may destroy the novelty of the invention.

A registered design is protected for five years from the filing date; protection may be extended by five-year renewals up to a total of 25 years (Industrial Property Act (Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu – SMK, Law No. 6769) art. 69 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). Unregistered designs are protected for three years from the date on which they were first made available to the public. Disclosure of the design to the public by the designer within the twelve months before filing does not affect the assessment of novelty and individual character (SMK art. 57 (Official text, opens in a new tab)). A renewal request may be made within the six months before expiry or, if this is missed, within the following six months on payment of an additional fee.