Intellectual and Industrial Property

Opposition to an application published in the Official Trademark Bulletin must be filed with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT) in writing, with reasons, within two months of publication. If reasons are not filed in time, the opposition is deemed not filed; the examination fee must also be paid within this period. If the opposition relies on a trademark registered for at least five years on the application date, the applicant may require the opponent to prove genuine use in Türkiye in the five years before the application, or just cause for non-use; failing such proof, the opposition is rejected. The Bulletin should therefore be monitored regularly and evidence of use compiled in advance.

Yes; since January 10, 2024, revocation for non-use has been requested administratively from the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT), not from the courts. A trademark not put to genuine use in Türkiye without just cause within five years of registration, or whose use has been suspended for five uninterrupted years, is revoked at an interested party's request. If genuine use began after the five-year period expired but before the request, the request is rejected; however, use started within the three months before the request in anticipation of it is disregarded. Because revocation, as a rule, takes effect from the request date, the request should be filed without delay.

As a rule, yes; under the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works, the employer exercises the economic rights in works created by employees in the course of employment, unless the contract or the nature of the work indicates otherwise. Computer programs and preparatory design work that will lead to a program are also protected as works. However, this rule does not apply to software developed without any connection to the employee's work or by an independent contractor or consultant; the rights must then be transferred by a written contract listing each right separately. To avoid problems in due diligence before an investment or company sale, employment contracts should contain express intellectual property provisions.

Because an agency or freelance designer is not an employee, economic rights in logos and designs do not automatically pass to the company; they must be transferred by a written contract listing each transferred right separately. The contract should expressly cover the rights of adaptation, reproduction, distribution and communication to the public, and the duration, territory and scope of the transfer. Delivering files or paying the fee does not by itself transfer intellectual property rights; for designs not yet created, an undertaking to assign, rather than a transfer, can be made. If the logo will serve as a trademark, a trademark application should be filed in the company's name once the transfer is complete.

Yes. Unlawfully obtaining and using manufacturing and business secrets, and inducing employees to disclose them, are defined as unfair competition under the Turkish Commercial Code. Before or during a lawsuit, the court may grant an interim injunction to preserve the status quo and prevent unfair competition; the applicant must make a prima facie showing of its claim and show that delay would cause serious harm. An injunction obtained before a lawsuit lapses automatically if the main action is not filed within two weeks of the request for its enforcement; access restrictions and confidentiality agreements showing that the list was kept secret should be documented in advance.

Yes; the Industrial Property Law lets the right holder calculate its lost profits by one of three methods of its choice: the income it would probably have earned absent the infringement, the infringer's net profit, or the license fee the infringer would have owed under a license. The calculation considers the trademark's economic importance, the number, duration and type of existing licenses, and the nature and extent of the infringement. If the court finds that the trademark was decisive in creating demand for the product, it adds an equitable additional share under the first two methods. Before choosing, the right holder should assess whether it can access the infringer's sales and profit data.

Miran Legal handles the national and international search, registration, protection and transfer of trademarks, patents, industrial designs and utility models. We provide advice on trademark, patent, industrial design and utility model rights and handle the civil and criminal cases arising from disputes over them. We also carry out procedures relating to copyright and work to prevent the misuse of trade secrets. We prepare license agreements and advise our domestic and foreign clients in negotiations for granting and obtaining licenses.