The trademarks owned by natural or legal persons in Turkey are protected by the Decree-Law no. 556 issued in 1995. The intellectual property rights are held by both the persons who live in Turkey or have a company established in this country and by entities that benefit from the rights according to the Paris or Bern Conventions. Other beneficiaries of these rights are the natural persons or companies incorporated in other countries that offer protection to the citizens of Turkey.



The natural or legal persons who need to obtain protection for their trademarks can apply to the Patent Institute in Turkey or send an international application through the Madrid protocol.



The persons who choose the first method should file an application and send it to the Patent Institute. If the person who asks for trademark registration is not living in Turkey or the company is not registered in this country, a trademark agent can act on their behalf.



The procedure at the Patent Institute



The specialists from the Patent Institute will examine the application and decide if there is any reason for refusal. If the application is not refused, then the application is published in the Trademark Bulletin. Other persons may contest the application within a period of three months after the publishing. If there is no opposition, the application is registered with the Trademark Register and then published at the Trademark Gazette. In case there are one or more oppositions, the applicant must wait until these are solved.



For international application, the most used method is the Madrid system based on two treaties - Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol. In Turkey, only the applications from countries that are members of the Madrid Protocol are accepted. They should apply for the trademark registration at the local office in order to obtain the international registration.

Then they will file an international application with the International Bureau of World Intellectual Property Organization and they will mention the countries for the registration. WIPO will register the trademark and then the organization will communicate it to the countries in which it is to be applied. The specialists from the Patent Institute in Turkey will examine the application and decide if it is accepted in this country too.



The protection for a trademark is registered for 10 years and after that period it should be renewed.



When you need to register a trademark in Turkey and you want legal assistance, you may contact our lawyers in Turkey.

