Turkey's current trademark regulations are primarily based on the Trademark Law promulgated on November 5, 1995. The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office is responsible for managing trademark affairs, and the official language is Turkish. Trademark registration in Turkey follows the "first-to-use" principle, and trademark rights must be legally registered.

Trademark System

Turkey is a party to international intellectual property treaties such as the TRIPS Agreement, the Trademark Law Treaty, the Paris Convention, the Nice Agreement, the WIPO Convention, the Singapore Treaty and the Vienna Agreement, and has joined the Madrid Protocol. Therefore, trademark registration can be handled through "single country registration" or "Madrid International Registration", and trademark applications accept multiple categories for one mark.
Currently, Turkey adopts the description of goods and services in the 11th edition of the Nice Classification and accepts multiple categories for one mark. The elements that can be registered as trademarks in Turkey are: text, name, graphic, three-dimensional logo, color combination, slogan, sound, smell, appearance, dynamic image (three-dimensional logo, color combination, sound need to meet specific requirements when applying for registration). If the applicant does not reside in Turkey, he/she must entrust a special agent in his/her country to handle the application.

Classification 

Turkey adopts the 11th edition of the International Nice Classification for the description of goods and services. Trademark registration is applied according to goods/services categories (Classes 1–34 are for goods, and Classes 35–45 are for services).

Convention Priority

Turkey is a contracting party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, and the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks. If the applicant's country of origin is a member of the Paris Convention and the trademark application in Turkey is filed within 6 months of the first application in the country of origin, the applicant may claim priority. Applying for international trademark registration through the Madrid System also enjoys relevant priority treatment to a certain extent, which facilitates the acquisition of trademark protection in Turkey and other Madrid Union member states.

Examination procedure

Formal examination + substantive examination. Upon approval, the trademark will be scheduled for publication.

Objection 

The objection period is 2 months from the date of announcement of the Turkish trademark (for applications before January 10, 2017, the objection period is 3 months from the date of announcement). If no one objects during the announcement period or the objection is not established, the trademark certificate will be approved for registration. Under smooth conditions, it takes about 1 year to register a Turkish trademark; if there is a rejection or objection in the middle, the time will be extended.

Duration and Renewal

The validity period of a Turkish trademark registration is 10 years from the date of application. It can be renewed within 6 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months, and the renewal period is 10 years.