TÜRKIYE Law and Practice Contributed by: Korcan Dericioğlu, Gonca Adalı Başmakcı, Ekin Karakuş Öcal and Önder Erol Ünsal, Ankara Patent
Trade Mark Cancellation (Invalidation and Revocation) Revocation actions against trade marks can be initiated before TÜRKPATENT, especially if based on non-use grounds. Administrative proceedings can be commenced by filing petitions or applica - tions directly with TÜRKPATENT to challenge the validity or existence of a trade mark registration based on specific legal grounds. Invalidation actions, on the other hand, are initi - ated before civil courts. Civil courts and spe - cialised IP courts in Türkiye have jurisdiction to hear cases involving trade mark disputes, including actions for cancellation based on vari - ous grounds. It is possible to request the partial cancellation of a trade mark for specific goods or services rather than of the entire registration. If the trade mark owner has not used the trade mark for spe - cific goods or services covered by the registra - tion and a third party can demonstrate this lack of use, they may request the partial cancellation of those unused goods or services. 5.5 Legal Remedies Against the Decision of the Trade Mark Office Any decision of the TÜRKPATENT’s Trade Marks Department can be appealed before TÜRKPAT - ENT within a two-month time limit following the notification date of the related decision. The appeals are examined by TÜRKPATENT’s Re-Examination and Evaluation Board, which is composed of at least three examiners. The board makes TÜRKPATENT’s final decision and these decisions might be appealed at special - ised IP courts within a two-month time limit fol - lowing the notification date of the decision.
base their claims on prior Turkish trade mark reg - istrations or applications. If the opposing party is domiciled in Türkiye, it is not obligatory to file the opposition via a reg - istered Turkish trade mark attorney. However, if the opponent is not domiciled in Türkiye, oppo - sitions must be completed via a registered Turk - ish trade mark attorney. Ability to File a Revocation/Cancellation Any individual or entity – including competitors, interested parties, or the owners of prior trade marks – may file a cancellation action (invalida - tion/revocation) against a trade mark. There is a requirement for the party initiating the cancella - tion to demonstrate a legal or commercial inter - est showing how the existence of the trade mark registration affects their rights. 5.4 Opposition or Revocation/ Cancellation Procedure Trade Mark Opposition The opposition procedure before TÜRKPATENT does not include hearings. The oppositions are examined by a single examiner from TÜRKPAT - ENT’s Trade Marks Department. The opponents can base their claims on every type of proof, especially for proving prior trade mark use. The most common types of proof are invoices, advertising materials, and news articles. Upon request of the applicant for the opposed trade mark, the opponent must prove the use of the trade mark on which the opposition is based to the extent that the trade mark has been reg - istered for more than five years at the filing date of the opposed trade mark application. Within a time limit of one month, if the opponent cannot prove the genuine use of their trade mark, the opposition will be refused within the scope of the likelihood of confusion claim.
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