Eti Mah. Toros Sok. No: 15/5, Hikmet Ünal Business Centre, 06570 Çankaya / Ankara, Türkiye
Practice area
Trademark, design and patent protection before TÜRKPATENT and the IP courts.
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In Türkiye, trademark rights arise through registration, and the first to file usually wins. Foreign brand owners who enter the market without registering often discover that someone else has already filed their name.
We file and prosecute trademarks and designs before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT), oppose conflicting applications, and litigate infringement, invalidation and unfair competition cases before the Ankara IP courts.
At a glance
Applications are examined for absolute grounds (lack of distinctiveness, descriptiveness, deceptiveness) and conflicting earlier marks, then published in the Official Trademark Bulletin. Third parties may oppose within two months — most often on the ground of likelihood of confusion, bad faith or reputation. Missing that window leaves only a court action, which is slower and costlier.
Registered trademarks may be invalidated by the IP courts on absolute or relative grounds. Revocation for five years of non-use has been decided by TÜRKPATENT itself since 10 January 2024. In infringement actions, the defendant may counter-claim for invalidation, and the claimant may be asked to prove genuine use.
Patents protect inventions that are new, inventive and industrially applicable for twenty years; utility models offer ten years of protection without the inventive-step requirement. Employee inventions, licensing and infringement disputes require both legal and technical assessment.
Registered designs are protected for up to twenty-five years in five-year renewals. Designs first made public in Türkiye also enjoy three years of unregistered protection against copying.
Copyright arises on creation without registration and lasts for the author’s life plus seventy years. Software, architectural works and content are licensed through written agreements specifying the rights, territory and duration; transfers of economic rights must be in writing.
.tr domain names are allocated through TRABIS and disputes are resolved by authorised dispute-resolution providers. We also handle geographical indications and the protection of trade secrets through confidentiality agreements and court action.
Yes, through the Madrid Protocol. Türkiye’s office examines the designation like a national application, and oppositions may be filed against it.
If the filing was made in bad faith — for example by a former distributor — it can be opposed or invalidated. Evidence of your prior use and the filer’s knowledge is decisive.
Discuss your intellectual property law matter
Tell us briefly what happened and whether any deadline is running; we will explain the options and next steps. We work in English, French and Turkish.
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