Filing a Patent in Türkiye: Stages, Deadlines and Pitfalls

A Turkish patent runs for twenty years from the filing date and cannot be extended; a utility model runs for ten (Article 101). The procedure is governed by strict deadlines — missing a request period causes the application to be deemed withdrawn.

Before filing

Patentability requires novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability, with novelty assessed worldwide. A prior-art search before filing protects the investment and, just as importantly, shapes how the claims should be drafted.

Do not disclose first. Exhibiting at a fair, selling the product, posting about it or presenting to investors without an NDA can destroy novelty. File first, publicise second.

The file

• Description — enabling disclosure for a person skilled in the art.
• Claims — the text that defines the scope of protection and the legal value of the patent.
• Abstract and, where needed, drawings.

Deadlines that decide the file

• Search request within twelve months of filing, or the application is deemed withdrawn.
• Publication at eighteen months from the filing or priority date.
• Examination request within three months of notification of the search report.

Note that the former unexamined patent has been abolished under the Industrial Property Code: patents now issue after examination, which strengthens the resulting right.

After grant

Protection continues only while annuities are paid. A significant share of Turkish patents are lost not to refusal but to a missed annuity.

See our articles on annuities and international filings, or contact us.

General information only, not legal advice.