Trademark and Patent

– Filing and prosecution of geographical indications
– Submitting requests for amendments
– Translation services
– Withdrawal of registration

Requests relating to the geographical indication proceedings are made to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TurkPatent). TurkPatent enforces the Industrial Property Code numbered 6769. Only national applications can be requested.

Clients who are domiciled outside the borders of the Republic of Turkey can only be represented by trademark attorneys who are authorized to act before TurkPatent.

  1. Application for registration of a geographical indication and designation of origin and traditional specialty guaranteed products may be made through the natural or legal persons who are the genuine manufacturers of the product which is the subject to geographical indication and designation of origin, consumers union or governmental units dealing with the geographical location in question.


    1. Name and address of the applicant
    2. Name of the geographical indication requested to be registered, information and documents about the eligibility of the product as an appellation of origin or as a designation of origin, the product group that it belongs to, and its compliance with the definition of geographical indication
    3. Description of the product; technical information and documents describing the physical, chemical, microbiological, and organoleptic properties of the product, and if necessary its raw materials
    4. Information and documents clearly identifying and designating the boundaries of the geographical area
    5. Information and documents regarding the production method of the product, and if relevant, local production techniques, practices, and traditions that give the product its specialty
    6. Information and documents proving the link between the characteristics, reputation, or other features of the product subject to the registration within the meaning of geographical indication definition and the defined geographical area
    7. Information and documents related to the historical background of the product in the specified geographical area
    8. Information and documents explaining the control procedures
    9. Priority document with its sworn translation in Turkish (can be filed later), if any
    10. Information explaining the use of geographical indication, and if any, the procedures on labeling and packaging

Geographical indications and designations of origin or traditional specialty guaranteed products subject to the application must be protected by the country of origin or and international community of which the country of origin is a member; Control requirements specified shall be met in the country of origin;

 

Country of origin shall provide equal rights of protection to geographical indication and designation of origin or traditional specialty guaranteed products applications of Turkish origin.

 

If a geographical indication and designation of origin or traditional specialty guaranteed products application originating from a foreign country is identical to a geographical indication and designation of origin or traditional specialty guaranteed products protected in Turkey, local use of similar names and the possibility of confusion by the consumer shall be taken into account during its examination. The use of such geographical indications and designations of origin and traditional specialty guaranteed products shall only be allowed under the condition that the name of the country of origin is indicated clearly and visibly on the label.

TurkPatent carries out the following steps for registration:

  1. procedural examination
  2. publication(3 months)
  3. examination of oppositions and appeals
  4. granting registration

TurkPatent examines the geographical signs and traditional specialties guaranteed in terms of the Articles of the IP Code numbered 6769. The Office may request opinions from relevant institutions and organizations for evaluating technical information at the stage of examination. Applications examined and found eligible under the Articles of IP Code are published in the Bulletin.

If no opposition has been filed against the application within three months of its publication in the Bulletin or the objections filed against the application have decisively been rejected or if the application has been amended as a result of an objection, the application is registered.

After registration, TurkPatent demands control of use reports from the GI proprietor. Legalized control of use reports and its sworn translation into Turkish should be submitted to TurkPatent once a year after registration is published in the Bulletin.

Gamze Bakır

Starting her career in IP and being a chartered Trademark Attorney before TurkPatent in 2013, Gamze C. Bakır practiced as Manager of Trademark&Design Department in a Turkish IP firm. Her area of expertise mainly focuses on application, protection and maintenance of Intellectual Property rights, specifically trademarks and designs, both domestically and internationally.

She actively participated in many national and international events, training, and seminars. Since 2015, she has also been an active member at INTA and ECTA meetings. She is fluent in English.

Education
Middle East Technical University, MS (2011)
Hacettepe University, BA (2005)

Nihan Saman


Starting her career in IP and being a chartered Trademark Attorney before TurkPatent in 2013, Nihan O. Saman practiced as Team Leader of Trademark&Design Department in a Turkish IP firm. Her area of expertise mainly focuses on application, protection and maintenance of Intellectual Property rights, specifically plant variety protection, trademarks and designs, both domestically and internationally.

She actively participated in many national and international training, and seminars. She is fluent in English.

Education
Hacettepe University, MBA (2011)
Hacettepe University, BA (2005)