The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office publishes its Official Trademark Bulletin twice a month. After trademarks pass the preliminary examination conducted by the Turkish Patent, they are published for a period of two months. During this time, opoositions regarding why the trademark should not be registered must be made within these two months from the date of publication of the trademark application.
Objections are made based on the relative grounds for refusal specified in Article 6 of the.
Steps to Oppose the Publication of a Trademark Application
ARTICLE 6 – (1) An application for trademark registration shall be refused upon opposition if there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public, including the likelihood of association with the earlier trademark, due to identity with, or similarity to, the earlier trademark and the identity or similarity of the goods or services covered.
2) A trademark application for the registration of an identical or indistinguishably similar trademark filed by a commercial agent or representative in his own name without the trademark proprietor’s consent and without any justifiable ground shall be refused upon the trademark proprietor’s opposition.
3) If a right to a non-registered trademark or to another sign used in the course of trade was acquired prior to the date of application or the date of the priority claimed for the application for registration of a trademark, the trademark application shall be refused upon opposition of the proprietor of that prior sign.
4) Trademark applications which are identical or similar to the well-known marks within the context of Article 6 bis of the Paris Convention, shall be refused upon opposition in respect of the identical and similar goods or services. (
5) A trademark application which is identical with, or similar to, an earlier registered trademark or application irrespective of whether the goods or services for which it is applied or registered are identical with, similar to or not similar to those for which the latter trademark is applied for, and the use of the latter trademark without due cause would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to the distinctive character or the repute of the earlier trade mark due to the reputation the earlier trademark has in Turkey; shall be refused upon opposition of the proprietor of that earlier trademark.
6) An application for registration of a trademark shall be refused upon the opposition of the right holder if it consists of a person’s name, trade name, photography, copyright or any other intellectual property right of another.
7) An application for registration of a trademark identical to or similar to a collective mark or a guarantee mark with identical or similar goods or services, that is filed within three years following the expiration of the protection of the collective mark or guarantee mark due to non-renewal shall be refused upon opposition of the previous right holder.
8) An application for registration of a trademark identical to or similar to a registered trademark with identical or similar goods or services, that is filed within two years following the expiration of the protection of the registered trademark due to non-renewal shall be refused upon opposition of previous trademark proprietor provided that the trademark has been used during this period.
9) Trademark applications filed in bad faith shall be refused upon opposition.
Oppositions can be filed directly by the prior trademark owners seeking the cancellation of the trademark or by trademark attorneys on their behalf. The most crucial aspect to consider here is establishing a sound strategy for the case and substantiating the grounds for the opposition.
For example, merely claiming that the opposing party’s trademark is a “well-known trademark” without supporting this claim with evidence may lead to the rejection of the opposition based on this ground. Additionally, if a likelihood of confusion, including the likelihood of association, is claimed, it is essential to substantiate the petition rather than merely asserting the similarity of the trademarks.
Therefore, to prevent potential rights losses, avoid missing deadlines, and ensure that the petition is thoroughly prepared, it is recommended that opposition be handled by trademark attorneys. Approximately 4-6 months after the filing of the opposition, the Turkish Patent Office makes its decision. Based on this decision, a request for re-examination of the opposition can be made before the Board of Appeal, whose decision constitutes the final decision of the Turkish Patent Office and signifies the conclusion of the administrative process.
