This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Marka Tescili: Başvuru, İtiraz ve Marka İhlali.
Trade mark protection in Turkey arises as a rule from registration (Law no. 6769). Unregistered use is protected to a limited extent, but the burden of proof falls on the user. Once an application is published, third parties have two months to oppose; if nobody does, the mark proceeds to registration.
A name you have used for years can one day be registered by someone else, and a cease-and-desist notice can arrive. Or the reverse: you may find a business copying your mark.
This article explains the registration process under the Industrial Property Act (Law no. 6769), the deadlines for opposition, and the routes available when a mark is infringed.
What Can Be Registered as a Trade Mark?
Article 4: a trade mark may consist of any sign — words including personal names, figures, colours, letters, numerals, sounds, and the shape of goods or their packaging — provided it distinguishes one undertaking's goods or services from another's and can be represented on the register in a way that makes the subject of protection clear and precise.
The principal absolute grounds for refusal (Article 5) include signs that:
- lack distinctive character
- designate in trade the kind, type, quality, quantity, purpose, value or geographical origin of goods
- are used by everyone, or serve to distinguish members of a particular profession
- are identical to an earlier mark registered for identical goods or services
- are deceptive, or contrary to public policy
Generic and descriptive names therefore cannot be registered, or give very weak protection. Choose a distinctive, original name.
How Does the Application Work?
The application is made to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office:
- A prior search. Check whether identical or similar marks exist. Skipping this wastes both effort and fees when the application is refused or opposed.
- Choosing the classes. Goods and services are specified under the Nice classification. Protection is limited to the classes chosen, so cover the whole of your current and planned activity.
- Filing and formal examination.
- Examination on absolute grounds, carried out by the Office of its own motion.
- Publication in the official trade mark bulletin.
- The opposition period. Third parties may oppose within two months of publication.
- Registration and entry on the register.
Protection runs for ten years from the filing date and is renewable for further ten-year periods.
The Opposition Deadlines
Opposition to publication (Article 18). Interested persons may oppose the registration of a published application within two months of publication.
The commonest ground is a likelihood of confusion (Article 6/1): a mark cannot be registered where, because of its identity or similarity to an earlier registered or earlier applied-for mark and the identity or similarity of the goods or services, there is a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public.
Other relative grounds: an earlier right in an unregistered sign used in trade, well-known marks, personal names and intellectual property rights, and bad-faith applications.
Appealing decisions. Decisions of the Office may be challenged before the Office within two months of notification. Decisions of the Re-examination and Evaluation Board may be challenged by proceedings in the intellectual and industrial property court within two months.
Revocation for non-use. A mark may be revoked where it has not been put to genuine use within five years of registration without proper reason. An opponent may also be required to produce evidence of use of their own mark.
What Can Be Done About Infringement?
Where a registered mark is used without consent, the following are available:
- A cease-and-desist notice through a notary — the fastest step, which also fixes the date and puts the other side on notice.
- An interim injunction, to stop the use, prevent the goods entering the market, and secure the evidence.
- A civil action in the intellectual and industrial property court: to establish the infringement, stop it, remove its effects, and claim damages including the loss of profit.
- A criminal complaint. Infringement of a trade mark right is an offence under Article 30 of Law no. 6769, prosecuted upon complaint.
- Customs measures, to stop counterfeit goods at the border where the mark is recorded with the customs authorities.
Evidence matters here as everywhere: purchase samples, dated screenshots of online listings, invoices, and where necessary preservation of evidence through the court.
Is Unregistered Use Protected?
Yes, but in a limited way. A person who has genuinely used a sign in trade before another's application may rely on that earlier right to oppose the application or to seek invalidation of the registration.
Unfair competition law (Articles 54 and following of the Commercial Code) also protects against confusion caused by imitation of a business's signs.
But in both routes the burden of proving prior and genuine use falls on the user — invoices, advertising, dated records — which is precisely why registration is worth the cost.
Once an application is published, the window to oppose is two months and it cannot be extended. Set up a watch on your own mark, or a competitor's application will register while you are unaware — after which the only routes are invalidation proceedings, which are slower and harder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does protection require registration?
As a rule yes. Unregistered use is protected in a limited way — through earlier rights and unfair competition — but the burden of proving prior genuine use falls on the user.
How long do I have to oppose an application?
Two months from publication in the official bulletin. The period cannot be extended.
How long does registration last?
Ten years from the filing date, renewable for further ten-year periods.
Can I lose a mark I do not use?
Yes. A mark may be revoked where it has not been put to genuine use within five years of registration without proper reason.
What can I do about someone copying my mark?
Send a notarial cease-and-desist notice, seek an interim injunction, bring proceedings in the intellectual and industrial property court for an injunction and damages, make a criminal complaint, and record the mark with customs to stop counterfeit imports.