Protect your trademark today, before someone else takes it

It has two layers. The first is whether the name itself can be registered: if it contains a descriptive, generic or statutorily excluded term, the office refuses the application on its own initiative. The pre-check on this page measures that layer. The second is whether an identical or similar mark is already registered; that requires a class-based similarity search in the TÜRKPATENT database.

If an identical or indistinguishably similar mark exists in the same class of goods and services, the office refuses your application on its own initiative. If the similarity is weaker the application is published, but the earlier right holder can oppose during the publication period. That is why the search belongs before filing: changing the name is always cheaper than fighting an opposition.

The strongest marks are names that do not describe the product. Invented words and unrelated real words give the highest protection. Names that state the activity directly struggle in the office examination and give weak protection because they cannot be told apart from similar ones. Short descriptions can stay as a logo or a slogan; the mark itself should be distinctive.

No. A trade name is registered in the trade registry and prevents the use of the identical name, but it gives no trademark protection. Protecting the sign you use on your goods and services requires a separate trademark registration before TÜRKPATENT. The trade name and the trademark may also differ.

No. A domain registration is a right of use, not a trademark right. The reverse also holds: registering your trademark does not automatically end someone else's registration of the same name as a domain. The two need to be planned together; a registered trademark strengthens your hand against bad-faith domain registrations.

The Nice classification is an international system that divides goods and services into 45 classes. Classes 1–34 cover goods and classes 35–45 cover services. Trademark protection is class-based: your mark is protected only in the classes named in the application. The same brand name can be registered to someone else in a different class.

The right approach is the classes covering what you actually do today plus the areas you will enter in the near term. Adding unnecessary classes raises the cost, and five years after registration unused classes become open to a revocation request. Choosing too few leaves gaps in protection; registering the product but leaving the retail service out of scope is a common mistake.

Usually three classes are taken together: 9 for the software product itself, 42 for software development and technical services, and 35 for sales and marketing. Taking only 42 can leave a software sold as a product out of scope. The right combination depends on your business model.

Classes cannot be added to an existing application; new classes require a separate application, and its protection runs from the new filing date. So if your growth plan is clear, choosing the classes correctly at the start is both cheaper and safer than filing a second application later.

Yes, this is common. A restaurant brand and a textile brand with the same name can coexist as long as there is no likelihood of confusion. For well-known marks, however, protection can extend beyond the class limit; in that case you may face opposition even in a different class.

For an application that proceeds without opposition the total is usually 6–12 months. The office first examines the application on absolute grounds, then the mark is published in the Official Trademark Bulletin for two months. If the publication period passes without opposition, the registration fee is paid and the certificate is issued. If an opposition arrives the process can extend to a year or more.

Yes, you can. From the moment of filing you have an application number and date; that date sets your priority over third parties who file later. However, using “registered trademark” or the ® symbol before registration is completed is not correct; ™ is preferred at that stage.

The examination and the two-month publication period set by law cannot be shortened. Speed can only come from removing delays on your side: a complete application, the right class list and quick answers to the office's deficiency notices. An incomplete or incorrect application is the real cause of months of delay.

Individuals and legal entities resident in Türkiye may file themselves; the attorney requirement applies only to applicants resident abroad. That said, drafting the class list, assessing similarity and handling opposition are technical matters; a faulty class list can reduce the value of the registration for years.

During the publication period earlier right holders can oppose your application. In response, observations are filed with the office and, where appropriate, a defence that the earlier mark has not been used. If the office upholds the opposition the application is refused in whole or in part; that decision can be taken to re-examination.

These are grounds the office takes into account on its own initiative, with no need for anyone to oppose. Signs lacking distinctiveness, expressions used by everyone in the trade, descriptive names stating the kind or quality of the goods, signs contrary to public order and state emblems all fall in this group. The pre-check on this page measures the most common absolute-ground risks.

These are grounds assessed on the opposition of third parties. The most common is the existence of an earlier identical or similar mark. The office decides by assessing the similarity of the marks together with the similarity of the goods and services; if there is a likelihood of confusion the application is refused.

You can request re-examination before the office and, if that fails, go to court. Alternatively, if the ground for refusal is limited to certain classes, you can continue the application with those classes removed. Which route is more economical depends on the ground for refusal.

The cost has two parts: the attorney's service fee and the TÜRKPATENT official fees. The official fees vary with the number of classes and are paid in two stages — the application fee at filing, and the registration fee once the publication period ends without opposition. The calculator on this page shows the service fee; the current fee tariff is itemised in the written quote.

Both the official fee and the file preparation are class-based. For each class the goods and services list has to be drafted separately, a separate similarity search run, and any opposition assessed class by class. So as the number of classes rises, both the official fee and the service fee rise.

The detailed similarity search is an optional service and is charged separately. Against that, the free preliminary assessment by our trademark attorney is included in every quote. Skipping the search looks like a saving in the short term, but since the fee for a refused application is not refunded it usually costs more.

No. TÜRKPATENT fees are charged regardless of the outcome and are not refunded on refusal. That is the most concrete reason why a search before filing matters: the cost of the search is usually lower than the fee and the time lost.

Registration protects the mark for ten years from the filing date and can be renewed for further ten-year periods without limit. The renewal request is made in the six months before the protection period ends; if that window is missed, a six-month grace period is granted for an additional fee. An unrenewed trademark right lapses.

Yes. If the mark is not put to genuine use for the registered goods and services within five years of registration, it can become the subject of a revocation request. That is why adding classes you do not use is not only a cost but also a risk.

As the owner of a registered mark you can demand that the unauthorised use stops and, where necessary, pursue civil and criminal remedies. The first step is usually a formal warning letter. With an unregistered mark those rights are far more limited; this is where the concrete benefit of registration shows.

Yes. A registered trademark is an asset; it can be sold, transferred, licensed or pledged. For transfers and licences to be effective against third parties they must be recorded in the register. In company acquisitions the existence of a registered trademark affects the valuation directly.

No. Trademark protection is territorial; registration in Türkiye is valid only within Turkish borders. Protection abroad requires a national application in the relevant country, an EUIPO application for the European Union, or a multi-country application through the Madrid Protocol. Your Turkish application can serve as the basis for a Madrid application.