Protecting Fashion and Textile Designs in Türkiye

Design protection in fashion faces a particular problem: product life is short and the number of models is large. Registering an entire collection is neither economic nor practical. The answer is to layer protection.

Layer one: the unregistered design right

Unregistered designs are protected for three years from first disclosure to the public in Türkiye — long enough for most seasonal ranges. The limits are that it operates mainly against copying, and that the burden of proving the disclosure date sits entirely with you.

That makes the season archive a legal asset: dated lookbooks, trade fair records, e-commerce listing dates, design process files and production records are what turn the right into something enforceable.

Layer two: selective registration

Register the commercially load-bearing models rather than the whole collection — best sellers, signature shapes, carry-over classics and pieces at high risk of copying. With a certificate, marketplace complaints, customs applications and interim injunctions all move faster.

The twelve-month grace period

Fashion typically shows first and decides later. Turkish law accommodates this: a disclosure by the designer does not destroy novelty if the application is filed within twelve months. You can therefore wait for sell-through data before choosing what to register — provided you diarise that deadline.

Layer three: other rights

• Trademarks for the house name and logo, covering both goods and retail services.
• Recurring patterns and signature details that may in time function as marks.
• Copyright in original prints and graphics.
• Unfair competition where a collection is imitated as a whole.

See our articles on design registration and marketplace enforcement, or contact us.

General information only, not legal advice.