TÜRKIYE Law and Practice Contributed by: Meltem Manav and Yeşim Kumova, KM Legal
Depending on their level of recognition, trade marks may be classified as ordinary and well-known marks. Ordinary marks are those that obtain protection through registration but do not enjoy a particular level of recognition. Well-known marks, to the extent that the conditions set out in Article 6 (5) of the IPL are met, may benefit from protection beyond identical or similar classes, including in relation to dissimilar goods and/or services. The relevant provision reads as follows: “Where, due to the level of recognition attained in Türkiye by a registered trademark or a trademark for which an earlier application has been filed, use of an identical or similar mark would result in an unfair advantage being taken of, or would be detrimental to, the reputation or the distinctive character of the earlier mark, the application for registration of the later mark shall, upon opposition by the owner of the ear- lier mark, be refused, unless there is due cause, irre- spective of whether the application relates to identical, similar or different goods or services.” Even if a well-known trade mark is not registered, it may, in any event, benefit from protection under the unfair competition provisions of the TCC. 2.3 Trade Mark Registration System Trade mark rights are intangible property rights of an absolute nature. They may be asserted against third parties and confer exclusive rights on their owner only upon registration. In order to benefit from the pro- tection provided under the IPL, registration with the TURKPATENT is required. As per Article 7 of the IPL, protection of trade marks under the IPL is obtained through registration. A trade mark is protected only in respect of the goods or services for which it is reg- istered. The registration process proceeds as follows: • filing of the registration application; • classification and examination by the TURKPAT- ENT; • publication of the application; • opposition to the application within two months following the publication; • examination of oppositions; and
• acceptance or refusal of the application. The application must include: • an application form containing the applicant’s iden- tification details; • a representation of the trade mark; • a list of the goods and/or services covered by the application; • information evidencing payment of the application fee; • where the application concerns a collective or cer- tification mark, the technical specification prepared in accordance with Article 32; • where priority is claimed, information evidencing payment of the priority fee; and • where the mark contains letters other than those of the Latin alphabet, their transliteration into the Latin alphabet. Pursuant to Article 11 (2) of the IPL, a separate appli- cation must be filed for each trade mark. The trade mark application process typically takes approximately 7–12 months. It is possible to file trade mark applications covering multiple classes. For 2026, the main official fees are as follows: • single-class trade mark application fee: TRY2,820; • additional class fee (second class): TRY2,820; • trade mark registration fee: TRY7,010; and • fee for issuance of a copy of the registration certifi- cate: TRY2,890. The relevant fees are subject to change on an annual basis and may, at times, also be increased within the The term of protection of a registered trade mark is ten years from the application date. It may be renewed indefinitely in successive ten-year periods. The request for renewal must be filed by the trade mark owner within the six months preceding the expi- ry of the protection period, and information evidencing payment of the renewal fee must be submitted to the same year for economic reasons. 2.4 Term, Use and Maintenance
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