Trademark Registration in Türkiye: Protecting Your Brand Before Market Entry

Trademark Registration in Türkiye at a Glance

What Is a Trademark Under Turkish Law?

A trademark is a sign that distinguishes the goods or services of one undertaking from those of another and can be represented in the register in a clear and precise manner. The sign may include words, personal names, shapes, colors, letters, numerals, sounds, and the shape of goods or their packaging.

Registration is not compulsory. However, the official guide identifies registration as the most important means of proving ownership and preventing infringement. The register records registration details and later changes affecting the mark.

Collective and guarantee marks

A collective mark distinguishes the goods or services of members of a group of trading or service undertakings from those of other undertakings. A guarantee mark is used by multiple businesses under the trademark owner’s control to guarantee shared characteristics, production methods, geographical origin or quality.

How to Search for an Existing Trademark in Türkiye

Before filing, applicants may search whether the proposed sign is already registered or pending in another name. TURKPATENT provides a free online trademark search with both Turkish and English language options.

1. Search the exact word or figurative element.
2. Review similar signs, not only exact matches.
3. Compare the goods and services covered by earlier records.
4. Use the result to refine the mark, goods and services, and filing strategy.

Who Can Apply for a Trademark in Türkiye?

The Industrial Property Code recognises several eligibility routes. Applications may be filed by:

• Citizens of the Republic of Türkiye;
• Natural or legal persons domiciled in Türkiye or carrying on industrial or commercial activity in Türkiye;
• Persons entitled to apply under the Paris Convention or the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization; and
• Nationals of states that grant Turkish nationals industrial property protection under reciprocity.

Accordingly, a foreign individual or company may be eligible without first forming a Turkish company, provided the relevant treaty, activity, domicile or reciprocity basis is satisfied.

What Is Required for a Turkish Trademark Application?

Only one trademark may be requested in a single application. The application should be complete and internally consistent. Depending on the filing, it includes:

• Applicant and representative identity and contact details;
• Priority information, if priority is claimed;
• A representation of the mark that can be shown clearly and precisely in the register;
• A Latin-letter transcription where the mark contains non-Latin characters;
• The class numbers and a clear list of goods and services;
• The applicant’s or representative’s signature;
• Information showing payment of the application, class and priority fees where applicable;
• A notarised consent form where consent is relied on;
• Common-representative information for multiple applicants; and
• Required appendices.

Supporting documents

Supporting documents may include the original priority certificate and its sworn Turkish translation, technical regulations for a collective or guarantee mark, and a notarised consent form. A separate unconditional consent must be submitted for each application in which consent is relied upon, and the guide states that the consent cannot be withdrawn.

How Is a Trademark Application Filed Through EPATS?

Trademark applications are made electronically through TURKPATENT’s EPATS Electronic Application System, using interfaces compatible with e-Government. A complete application is processed according to the date, hour and minute it is received by the Office.

For international registrations designating Türkiye, applications with the same date are treated according to the international registration details described in the official guide, including priority between lower and higher international registration numbers where relevant.

How the Nice Classification Works

The Nice Classification divides goods into 34 classes and services into 11 classes. The applicant must identify the classes and describe the goods or services clearly enough for classification.

If broad or unclear expressions are used, TURKPATENT may request clarification. The guide provides a two-month period for clarification; unclarified terms are removed. If the application covers more than one class, the fee for the additional classes must also be paid within the stated two-month period. Otherwise, the application is examined only for the classes covered by the fee paid.

Can Priority Be Claimed?

A qualifying first application in a Paris Convention or WTO country may support a priority claim in Türkiye within six months. A qualifying display at an official or officially recognised national or international exhibition may also support exhibition priority.

The priority claim requires the original priority document, a sworn Turkish translation and payment of the priority fee. The official guide also explains that applicants with a Turkish application or registration may request a priority document when seeking protection in another Paris Convention or WTO country.

What Happens After Filing?

Formal examination

TURKPATENT first reviews whether the application meets the formal requirements. If a deficiency can be corrected, the applicant is generally given two months. A failure to correct the deficiency may cause the application to lapse or the deficient request to be disregarded.

Examination on absolute grounds

After formal examination, the application is examined ex officio under the absolute grounds for refusal. Depending on the result, all or part of the application may be refused, or the application may proceed to publication.

Appeal against a decision

A person adversely affected by a TURKPATENT decision may file a written and reasoned appeal within two months after notification. Appeals are reviewed by the Re-examination and Evaluation Department (YİDD). A final YİDD decision may be challenged before the competent court within two months after notification.

Publication, Opposition and Third-Party Observations

An application that passes examination is published in the Official Trademark Bulletin. An opposition may be filed within two months from publication on the statutory grounds identified in the Industrial Property Code.

Third parties may also submit observations concerning absolute grounds after publication. The guide distinguishes those observations from a formal opposition and excludes observations based on the specified identical-earlier-mark ground.

Proof of use in opposition proceedings

Where an opposition based on likelihood of confusion relies on an earlier mark registered for at least five years, the applicant may request evidence that the earlier mark was put to genuine use in Türkiye during the five years before the application or priority date, or that justified reasons for non-use existed. If that evidence is not provided, the opposition is rejected on that basis.

The guide also notes that disputes arising during examination may be referred to mediation under Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes.

When Does the Trademark Become Registered?

If no opposition is filed, or all oppositions are finally rejected, the applicant is requested to complete the registration requirements and pay the registration fee. Once completed, the mark is entered in the Trademark Register and published.

Before registration, the applicant may fully or partly withdraw the application or limit the goods and services. A pending application may also be divided into two or more applications on request. A registered trademark cannot be divided.

How Long Does Trademark Protection Last?

Trademark protection lasts for ten years from the application date. Registration may be renewed for successive ten-year periods.

The renewal request and fee should be submitted in the six months before expiry. If that deadline is missed, renewal may still be requested during the six months after expiry with payment of an additional fee. A mark that is not renewed within the available period expires.

The Five-Year Use Requirement

A registered mark should be put to genuine use in Türkiye within five years after registration. A lack of genuine use without justified reason, or an uninterrupted five-year suspension of use, is a ground for cancellation.

The following may count as use:

• Use in a form that does not alter the registered mark’s distinctive character;
• Use on goods or packaging solely for export; and
• Use with the trademark owner’s permission.

Applicants should therefore avoid claiming goods and services they do not genuinely plan to offer. Overly broad coverage increases filing cost and can increase cancellation exposure.

Trademark Rights and Infringement

The exclusive rights arising from registration belong to the trademark owner. Registration allows the owner to prevent unauthorised use of signs that create a likelihood of confusion for the same or similar goods or services, take unfair advantage of the registered mark’s reputation, or damage its distinctive character.

The official guide identifies infringement examples including unauthorised use, imitation of the mark or an indistinguishably similar sign, commercial handling of infringing goods by a person who knew or should have known of the imitation, and unauthorised expansion or transfer of licensed rights.

Invalidity, Cancellation and Expiry

Invalidity may be sought before the competent court where a statutory absolute or relative ground exists. If the ground affects only part of the goods or services, partial invalidity may be ordered.

The Industrial Property Code also provides for cancellation on the applicable statutory grounds. The official guide describes a seven-year transition beginning on 10 January 2017 for TURKPATENT’s cancellation authority. That transition has elapsed, and TURKPATENT now accepts and examines trademark cancellation requests under the applicable procedure.

Trademark rights also end when the protection period expires without renewal or when the owner surrenders all or part of the rights by filing the necessary documents.

Can a Trademark Be Licensed, Transferred or Pledged?

A registered trademark or a pending application may be the subject of legal transactions, including:

• Exclusive or non-exclusive licensing;
• Full or partial transfer for the relevant goods and services;
• Succession by inheritance;
• Ownership changes resulting from a merger, division, contribution in kind or business transfer;
• Compulsory enforcement and attachment; and
• Pledge or use as security.

Changes in the owner’s trade name, legal type or address should also be recorded in the register using the required documents.

International Trademark Protection and the Madrid System

A Turkish registration protects the mark only in Türkiye. A business seeking protection abroad must apply in the relevant countries, either separately or through an available international filing system.

The Madrid System can allow eligible applicants to request protection in multiple member countries through one international application, one language and a centralised registration system. The applicant must have the required nationality, domicile or real and effective industrial or commercial establishment connection to a Madrid Protocol member and must base the international filing on an application or registration at the office of origin.

For applications originating from Türkiye, the international application is transmitted through TURKPATENT to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The guide describes both the MM2 form route and Madrid e-Filing, but states that only one of those routes should be used for a given filing.

European Union Trade Mark

An EUTM is examined and registered by the European Union Intellectual Property Office and provides equal protection across EU member states. It is a separate territorial route from a Turkish national registration.

Pre-Filing Checklist for Foreign Businesses

1. Confirm the exact sign and the commercial owner that should file it.
2. Search TURKPATENT records for exact and similar earlier signs.
3. Map current and planned goods and services to the correct Nice classes.
4. Prepare a clear representation and any required Latin transcription.
5. Decide whether a six-month filing or exhibition priority claim is available.
6. Collect any priority, consent, collective-mark or guarantee-mark documents.
7. File through EPATS and retain the filing date, hour and minute.
8. Monitor formal examination, decisions and publication deadlines.
9. Prepare for a possible opposition and proof-of-use issues.
10. Plan genuine use, renewal and international filings alongside market entry.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)