Intellectual Property and Trademark Law

Under Article 18 of the Industrial Property Act No. 6769, opposition to the registration of a trade mark application published in the bulletin must be filed by interested parties within two months of the publication of the application.

The opposition may be based on prior ownership of rights or on absolute grounds for refusal. The grounds and evidence must be submitted within the period.

An appeal within the Office and subsequently a court action are available against the decision given on the opposition. Because the periods are short, regular follow-up is important.

Under Article 9 of the Industrial Property Act, a mark that has not been put to genuine use in Turkey by the trade mark owner in relation to the goods or services for which it is registered, without a justifiable reason, within five years of the registration date, or whose use has been suspended for an uninterrupted period of five years, shall be subject to a decision of revocation.

Invoices, catalogues, advertisements, packaging, and sales records are submitted as proof of genuine use. Use of a merely symbolic nature is not considered sufficient.

Under Article 19 of the Industrial Property Act, the party raising the opposition may be required to prove that the mark relied on in the opposition has been used. This request directly affects the outcome of the opposition.

A determination of the infringement, its cessation and prevention, and seizure of the infringing products may be requested. Material and non-pecuniary damages, as well as damages for harm to reputation, may also be claimed.

If the infringement is ongoing, requesting an interim injunction is important. Stopping sales through the injunction prevents the damage from growing.

Infringement of trade mark rights may also constitute a criminal offense. In that case, a criminal investigation may also be initiated by way of complaint.

Interested parties, public prosecutors, or relevant public institutions may request invalidity. The request is based on absolute or relative grounds for refusal.

Requests for invalidity based on relative grounds for refusal are subject to a time limit. A different assessment applies as to the period in the case of a registration made in bad faith.

A decision of invalidity in principle has retroactive effect. For this reason, transactions carried out relying on the mark may also be affected.

For a patent, the conditions of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability are required. The term of protection is longer and the examination process is more extensive.

For a utility model, the condition of inventive step is not required. As a result, registration can be obtained in a shorter time, though the term of protection is shorter.

The invention must not have been disclosed to the public before the application is filed. Filing before a trade fair or promotional activity preserves the novelty requirement.

The design must be new and possess distinctive character. Registration protects the features relating to the appearance of the product.

Limited protection is also provided for unregistered designs. However, registration provides a clear advantage with respect to the burden of proof and the scope of protection.

Businesses with a family of products may file a multiple application. This provides cost savings and ease of follow-up.

Literary and scientific, musical, artistic, and cinematographic works bearing the personal character of the author fall within the scope of protection. Computer programs are protected as literary and scientific works.

Protection arises upon the creation of the work and is not dependent on registration. Recording and registration procedures provide ease of proof.

The author's economic rights and moral rights are assessed separately. The assignment of economic rights must be made by a written agreement with the scope specified.

The assignment agreement must be in writing and must list the assigned rights individually. Assignments made in general terms give rise to disputes.

The duration, place, and scope of the assignment must be specified. Where these are not specified, the assignment tends to be interpreted narrowly.

Special rules apply regarding the use of rights in works created by an employee in the course of their duties. For this reason, it is recommended that relevant provisions be added to the employment contract.

An action may be brought to prevent infringement against use of a domain name that infringes trade mark rights. An application may also be made to domain name dispute resolution mechanisms.

In the application, the priority of the mark, the bad faith registration of the domain name, and the absence of a legitimate interest are assessed. Evidence is prepared along these three lines.

Offering the domain name for sale or using it to redirect traffic may be assessed as an indication of bad faith. The records must be documented through a screenshot capture.

Cases arising from industrial property and copyright are heard in the intellectual and industrial property civil court. In places where such a court does not exist, the civil court of first instance acts in that capacity.

Disputes with a criminal dimension are heard in the intellectual and industrial property criminal court. Both paths may proceed in parallel for the same incident.

Special jurisdiction rules apply to actions for annulment of Office decisions. For this reason, the competent court should be confirmed before the action is filed.

The registered classes must correspond to the actual activity of the business. Unused classes create a risk of revocation.

It is recommended that a calendar be kept to track renewal dates. Missing the deadline can lead to the right lapsing.

For activities abroad, international application routes should be considered. Filing in advance in target markets reduces the risk of imitation.

Registration provides an exclusive right over the mark and allows an action to be brought against unauthorized use of the same or a similar sign. Protection remains more limited for unregistered use.

Registration also facilitates commercial exploitation of the mark through assignment, pledge, and licensing. Recording these transactions in the register makes them enforceable against third parties.

It is recommended that a search for similar marks be carried out before filing the registration application. The search reduces the risk of opposition and invalidity from the outset.