Your brand’s assurance

Under Article 4 of Law No. 6769, a trademark is defined as any sign — including words such as personal names, figures, colours, letters, numerals, sounds, and the shape of goods or their packaging — provided that it is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings and of being represented on the register in a manner that enables the clear and precise determination of the subject matter of the protection afforded to its proprietor.

According to this definition, for a sign to be registered as a trademark it must first be capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of others. This distinctiveness constitutes the essential function of a trademark.

On the other hand, in order for the boundaries of trademark protection to be determined clearly and precisely, the sign must be capable of being represented on the register. For a sign to distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of others, it must also be perceivable; a sign that cannot be perceived cannot fulfil the function of distinctiveness.

Although Law No. 6769 on Industrial Property enumerates the types of signs that may be represented on the register, this enumeration is not exhaustive. Accordingly, any sign — including words such as personal names, figures, colours, letters, numerals, sounds, and the shape of goods or their packaging — may be registered as a trademark.

The first and most important stage of the trademark registration process is the correct determination of the trademark specimen before the application is filed. This process consists of two fundamental steps.

In the first step, the words, figures or other elements making up the trademark specimen are determined. In the second step, the likelihood of registration of the determined specimen is assessed. This assessment requires a comprehensive similarity search.

As is frequently encountered in practice, individuals without sufficient knowledge of the trademark registration process regard the similarity search merely as checking whether an identical trademark is already registered. However, what matters in trademark law is the assessment of the likelihood of confusion within the framework of the overall impression created by the trademarks.

Similarly, trademark registration and trade name registration are often confused. While the addition of certain terms is in most cases deemed sufficient for trade names, in trademark law minor additions do not always confer distinctiveness and may not eliminate the likelihood of confusion. Therefore, assessments to the effect that additions made to a registered trademark will remove the similarity problem are often mistaken.

A sound assessment of whether a trademark can be registered requires a correct understanding of the concept of “likelihood of confusion.” This concept is shaped by professional knowledge and experience and, in most cases, cannot be adequately assessed by first-time applicants.

For this reason, determining the trademark specimen and conducting the pre-application similarity search with the support of our experts is of great importance in reducing potential opposition and refusal risks.

With the development of commercial life in our country, trademark law has developed in parallel. The importance of trademarks is not a phenomenon peculiar to the present day; it has existed as one of the fundamental elements of commercial life since the past. Indeed, according to data from the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT), a total of 164,657 domestic trademark applications were filed in Türkiye in 2025. This increase shows that interest in, and the need for, trademark law have risen considerably.

In parallel with this development, numerous legal studies have been carried out in the field of trademark law. However, when these studies are examined, it is seen that they focus predominantly on the litigation stage rather than on the procedures conducted before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

Yet in practice, it can be said that the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office plays a role at least as effective as the courts and the Court of Cassation. Indeed, resolving trademark-related disputes before the Office without taking them to court offers significant advantages in terms of both time and cost. While opposition proceedings before the Office are generally concluded within a few months, the resolution of disputes of the same nature at the judicial stage may take years.

On the other hand, the registration and opposition procedures conducted before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office constitute a foundation that determines the basis and scope of any lawsuits that may subsequently be filed. Where a dispute becomes the subject of litigation, the courts mostly rely on the procedures carried out before the Office, the statements made and the evidence submitted. At this stage, the claims asserted and the evidence submitted before the Office are, in most cases, not permitted to be changed or expanded.

Taken together, these considerations show that increasing legal work relating to the procedures before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office will make significant contributions to trademark law. Greater knowledge and awareness in this field will enable faster and more economical solutions, while also ensuring that the procedures forming the basis of disputes are conducted more soundly.

When all these assessments are considered together, the trademark registration process and the procedures conducted before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office are decisive for the protection of a trademark. For this reason, trademark registration is not merely a recording procedure; it is a fundamental instrument that secures the trademark legally and prevents the loss of rights in potential disputes.

The trademark registration process is conducted before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office and, where necessary, may be brought before the Ankara Civil Court for Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights; it is of great importance for trademark law. That said, a significant part of the work relating to trademark law is directed at the post-registration stage — that is, disputes that have been, or may be, brought before the judiciary.

The procedures conducted before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office involve a process similar in nature to judicial activity and, in most cases, results can be obtained more quickly than through the courts. Although the expression “trademark registration process” may at first glance appear to refer to the period from application to registration, in practice it refers to a broader process that also encompasses post-registration procedures for the protection of the trademark. For this reason, the process before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office is of great importance in protecting a trademark.

With the completion of trademark registration, the process does not come to an end; on the contrary, a new stage begins for the protection of the trademark right. At this stage, the process must be monitored regularly so that the proprietor can protect their rights effectively.

Under the scheme of Law No. 6769 on Industrial Property, a trademark application is published unless it is found to be identical or indistinguishably similar to an earlier trademark. In practice, however, because the concept of indistinguishable similarity is interpreted narrowly, even trademarks with a very high degree of similarity may be published.

This makes it imperative for the trademark proprietor to monitor the published Trademark Bulletin regularly and, where necessary, to file oppositions against similar trademarks in order to protect their registered trademark.

Given the high number of annual trademark applications, it is quite difficult to conduct trademark watch and opposition procedures soundly without professional support. Therefore, in order to protect the trademark right effectively, the process should be followed with the support of our experts after registration as well. In this context, our handling of trademark watch and opposition procedures in the post-registration period plays an important role in protecting your trademark.

Yes, a trademark can be registered internationally.

Trademark registration is, by its nature, subject to the principle of territoriality. That is, a trademark registration made in Türkiye, as a rule, provides protection only within the borders of Türkiye. For this reason, in order for the trademark to be protected abroad as well, it must be separately registered in the relevant countries.

In this context, direct national applications may be filed in the countries where protection is sought, or applications covering more than one country may be made through centralized application systems. One of the most widely used systems is the Madrid Protocol, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Thanks to this system, protection can be sought in more than one country with a single application.