– Filing and prosecution of national and international trademark applications
– Conducting trademark search
– Filing oppositions against trademark applications
– Submitting counterview against oppositions
– Preparing and filing trademark license agreements
– Undertaking renewals of registered trademarks
– Preparing and filing trademark assignment agreements
– Recordal of name/address change
– Translation services
– Representing Clients before government agencies relating to trademark transactions
– Representing Clients before government agencies relating to trademark transactions

Requests relating to trademark registration proceedings are made to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TurkPatent). TurkPatent enforces the Industrial Property Code numbered 6769 and adopts Nice Classification. It has a multi-class filing system.

Turkey is a member of WIPO, Paris Convention, and WTO. Claiming priority under Paris Convention and filing international registration under the Protocol of Madrid is possible.

Clients who are domiciled outside the borders of the Republic of Turkey – except for those making an application through the Madrid Protocol – can only be represented by trademark attorneys who are authorized to act before TurkPatent.

1. Name and address of the applicant
2. Representation of trademark in JPEG format
3. List of goods and services (download Nice Classification)
4. Latin transliteration of trademark representation if any letters or words are used other than Latin alphabet
5. Information about letter of consent, if any*
6. Information about priority (date, number, country of origin), if any**

* The letter of consent should be notarized and legalized. (Download LoC for single owner from here, multiple owner from here)

** Priority document with its sworn translation into Turkish can be filed either at the time of application or within 3 months as of the application.

TurkPatent carries out the following steps for registration:

• * ex-officio examination (1-6 months)
• * publication (2 months)
• * examination of oppositions and appeals
• * granting registration (2 months)

TurkPatent examines the trademark application in terms of the existence of prior similar trademark(s) as well as other absolute grounds of refusal as cited in Article 5 of the IP Code No. 6769.

If the trademark is refused due to the existence of a prior similar trademark(s), the applicant has the right to obtain a notarized and apostilled LoC from the owner(s) of the prior trademark(s). In case the LoC is obtained and filed until the decision on the appeal is given, then the reason for the refusal will be deemed to be invalid, and the trademark will proceed to publication.

If an opposition is filed against a trademark application, the applicant may request the opponent to prove use of the trademark(s) for the goods and services used as a grounds to opposition on the condition that those trademarks were registered for more than five years starting from the application/priority date. If the opponent can prove the use, then the opposition will be accepted. If the opponent cannot prove the use, then the opposition will be rejected for those goods/services.

If no opposition is filed by third parties or the opposition of a third party is rejected partially or totally by the Department of Re-examination and Evaluation, the registration certificate of the trademark is issued.

The protection term for a registered trademark is ten years from the date of application. This term shall be renewed for periods of ten years.

Request for renewal needs to be made by the trademark proprietor within six months before the expiry of the protection date. In case no request is made to the TurkPatent within this period, a renewal request may be made within six months after the expiry of the protection date, provided that an additional fee is paid.