How to Register a Trademark in Türkiye: Step-by-Step Guide

In Türkiye a brand becomes legally “yours” through registration, not through first use alone. The process has six stages: a clearance search, class selection, filing, ex officio examination by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT), publication in the Official Trademark Bulletin with a two-month opposition window, and finally payment of the registration fee and issuance of the certificate. Uncontested files typically complete in 8-12 months.

What registration actually gives you

Under Industrial Property Code No. 6769 (SMK), registration grants an exclusive right limited to the goods and services you selected. Protection runs for ten years from the filing date and can be renewed indefinitely in ten-year terms (Art. 23). The certificate is the document you rely on in infringement actions, customs seizure requests and takedown complaints filed with e-commerce marketplaces.

Unregistered use is not worthless — unfair competition rules and prior-use defences offer some protection. But you would have to prove since when, where and how intensively you used the mark. With a registration, the burden of proof sits with the other side. That is the practical difference.

Step 1 — Clearance search before filing

A meaningful share of refusals could have been avoided by a few hours of searching. A proper search does not stop at identical wording: visual, phonetic and conceptual similarity are assessed together with the similarity of goods and services. Official fees are not refunded when an application is refused, so this step is insurance rather than cost.

See our trademark clearance service and what a search should cover in this article.

Step 2 — Selecting the right classes

Protection extends only to the classes you designate under the Nice Classification: classes 1-34 cover goods, classes 35-45 cover services. Every additional class increases the official fee, while a list that is too narrow leaves you exposed as soon as you expand your offering.

Step 3 — Filing

Applications are filed through TÜRKPATENT’s online system (EPATS) and contain the representation of the mark, the applicant’s details, the list of goods and services and any priority claim. The filing date determines both the start of protection and your seniority against later applicants.

Applicants domiciled in Türkiye may file on their own behalf. Applicants domiciled abroad must be represented by a registered Turkish trademark attorney before the Office.

Step 4 — Formal and absolute-grounds examination

The Office reviews formalities and then examines the application ex officio against the absolute grounds in Article 5: lack of distinctiveness, descriptive terms, signs that must remain free for all traders, and earlier marks that are identical or indistinguishably similar. The outcome is publication, partial refusal for some classes, or full refusal.

A refusal can be appealed to the Re-examination and Evaluation Board within two months of notification (Article 20). The deadline is strict and cannot be extended.

Step 5 — Publication and the two-month opposition window

Once past absolute grounds, the application is published in the Official Trademark Bulletin. For two months from publication, third parties may oppose on the relative grounds set out in Article 6 (Article 18) — most commonly a likelihood of confusion with an earlier mark.

You are not defenceless. If the mark relied on in the opposition had been registered for at least five years at your filing date, you may request proof that it has been put to genuine use (Article 19/2). If use cannot be proven, the opposition fails. In practice this defence resolves a large share of oppositions.

Step 6 — Registration fee and certificate

If no opposition is filed, or an opposition is rejected, the Office issues a decision to register and sets a deadline for the registration fee. Missing that payment deadline is the most common way applicants lose a file at the finish line.

Three duties that start the day you register

• Genuine use: the mark must be put to genuine use within five years of registration (Article 9), otherwise it can be cancelled on request — see our note on non-use cancellation.
• Watching: the Office will not warn you about confusingly similar later applications. Trademark watch exists to make sure you never miss the two-month opposition window.
• Renewal: protection must be renewed every ten years, requested within the six months before expiry, with a further six-month grace period against an additional fee (Article 23).

How long does it take?

An uncontested file usually takes 8-12 months from filing to certificate. An opposition, or an appeal against an Office decision, can add another 6-12 months. Timelines depend on the Office’s workload, so no attorney can promise a fixed date.

Let us map out the right route for your brand — get in touch.

This article is general information and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a trademark attorney about the deadlines and strategy that apply to your specific file.