According to Article 6/9 of the new Turkish IP Code, bad-faith is a revocation cause. Provided that you have proof, you can file a revocation action against the trademark on grounds of bad-faith. If you do not have proof, we'd be happy to assist you by checking the national sources and databases.

We do offer trademark monitoring service for our clients, thanks to our dedicated Monitoring Team. You can contact us for further information.

It is possible to make a well-known trademark application in Turkey. In order for your trademark to obtain well-known status, it must possess a well-known status in its business sector and among the average customers. Along with that, advertisement and promotion operations and investments on these fields and public surveys regarding the reputation of the trademark would also be of immense importance in obtaining well-known status.

The advantages of obtaining a well-known trademark registration is as follows:

* Well-known status is widely considered as determinant of quality and value of the trademark and trademark owner.

* Well-known status is granted by Turkish Patent Institute as a token of reputation of the trademark and adds great esteem and prestige to trademark owner.

* The trademarks which obtained well-known status would enjoy a broader protection before TPI and it strengthens the owner’s hand in opposition proceedings.

* If the applicant of the well-known trademark does not allow, the trademark cannot be registered by any others.

* Well-known status does not only represent distinctiveness but also represents the firm which offers the related good/service.

* Well-known status offers a wide protection against identical or similar trademark applications. Applications which were filed in bad faith would end up being refused. Therefore, the trademark which has obtained the well-known status would remain “unimitated” in its sector.

* Well-known status shows that the trademark owner places significant importance on advertisement and promotion activities and, as a result, the reputation they bring.

National and international trademark applications made to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (hereinafter referred as the Office) after the date of publication of the new IP Code No. 6769 (January 10, 2017) will be subject to the new legislation in force. Therefore, there will be two different rules and practices for the applications made before, on or after January 10, 2017.

If a trademark is opposed by a third party, the owner of the opposed trademark has the right to ask the opponent to prove the use of his/her trademarks which are claimed to be the legal grounds of the opposition. The applicant must clearly notify the Office for this request in written form within the one-month-time-period for submission of his/her counterview. Upon request from the applicant, the Office shall give a period of one month, which can be extended for one further month, to the opponent to submit evidence that shows serious use in Turkey or justifiable reasons for not using the trademark within 5 years from the date of application or priority date of the opposed application.

In case the opponent does not submit any evidences of use in due time or the submitted evidence is not relevant, the Office will reject the opposition provided that the grounds for opposition is not valid.      

If the opponent provides evidence of use, the Office shall send this evidence to the applicant. Thereinafter, the applicant has the right to submit opinion on this evidence within a one-month period from the date of receipt. After the applicant files the opinion, a one-month period will be given to the opponent to submit his/her counterviews. In case the applicant does not submit any opinions in due time, the Office will evaluate the opposition within the scope of the existing evidences.

On the other hand, if the opponent submits evidences of use before the applicant requests, the Office will take this directly into consideration in its evaluation of the opposition.

However, if the applicant withdraws his/her request for the evidence of use, the request will be considered null. 

Additionally, during the examination, if the examiner decides that there is no possibility of confusion between the trademarks, the decision can be given without the evaluation of proof of use.

After the deadline granted by the Office, no further evidences can be submitted. In the event that the evidence is not in Turkish, the Office may give a two-month period for the submission of sworn Turkish translations. If the translations are not submitted within the deadline, the evidences requiring translation shall not be taken into consideration.

IP rights owners need to register their trademarks to the online customs system within three days following the notification before the Customs Authority releases the shipment. Registration is required to enjoy the customs protection to full extent. We can help you with registering your IP rights to the online customs system and guide you for further steps.

In legal sense, counterfeiting is a form of trademark infringement which has consequences in both criminal and private law. Depending on the specifics of the case, you have a right to conduct a raid to counterfeiters' location, press charges and/or file a private law action for damages and more. We can guide you and provide a tailored solution specific to your case.

Descriptions, claims and figures to be used for the European patent application should be in one of the official languages of European Patent Office which are English, French and German. Accordingly, if the specifications drafted for the application is not in one of these languages, a translation shall be necessary.

Please click here to see the summary of changes brought by the new IP Code.