There are two routes for registering a trademark application, namely;

1.   Conventional application

2.   Taking advantage of Madrid Protocol.

Yes. Where a trademark is not used within a period of 5 years from the registration date without a valid reason or where the use of a trademark is discontinued for an uninterrupted period of the same, it shall be cancelled.

The following situations shall be considered use of the trademark:

a)   use of the trademark together with different components without changing the distinctive character of the registered trademark;

b)   use of the trademark on products or their packaging for export purposes only;

c)   use of the trademark together with the permission of the trademark owner and

d)   the importation of the product bearing the trademark..

A trademark may consist of any kind of sign capable of being represented graphically, such as words, including personal names, designs, letters, numerals, sounds, scents, the shape of the goods of their packaging and similarly descriptive elements capable of being published and being reproduced by printing, provided that they shall discriminate the goods or services of one enterprise from those of another. The most important criterium in a trademark is finding the distinctive feature of a product or service from similar products and services.

Any real person (as from April 9, 2005) or legal persons

• residing or conducting industrial or commercial business in Turkey;
• who have application rights under provisions of Paris or Bern Convention or the Agreement Establishing

World Trade Organization;

• who are nationals of states which accord legal and de facto protection to Turkish nationals and
• who can enjoy according to the reciprocity principle trademark protection in Turkey.

If an applicant has no domicile or business seat in Turkey, a Turkish trademark attorney registered before Turkish Patent Institute must be appointed.

Today, trademarks are more valuable than concrete entities so that the powers of companies are measured with the values of their trademarks rather than the material entities they owned. The protection of a trademark begins with its registration to the name of its owner. The trademarks in Turkey are protected according to the Decree Law, No 556, which has been drawn up in compliance with Paris Convention and which is in force since 1995.

Either product or service enterprises must protect their trademarks with “trademark registration” in order to prevent the third parties to imitate their trademarks, which they use for discriminating their products and services. Trademark registration is the most important and powerful legal way for preventing the use of the exactly same or similar names, logos or distinctive marks as being used.

Once your mark is registered, your mark will always appear when third parties undertake a search for a mark or file an application that is similar to your mark by Turkish Patent Institute, which may serve a dual effect on the safe guard even at the first instance.