Industrial Property Law and Legal Solutions

As Viridis Legal Partners, we recognise the importance of protecting trademarks, innovations and designs that find application in various sectors. As an indispensable part of the economic value of businesses, trademarks, inventions and the unique appearance of products are essential in a competitive global market.

Why Industrial Property Rights Are Essential?

Industrial property, a subset of intellectual property, focuses on rights attributed to tangible innovations, inventions, and designs. This ensures that items produced and commercially sold are registered under the innovator’s name, encapsulating aspects like patents, brands, petty patents, and design rights.

Intellectual property, often recognized as copyrights or intellectual rights, emphasizes the rights attributed to a person’s or organization’s intellectual creations. This could range from literature to music, and more. Here, the owner can opt to share their creation freely or maintain certain controls over its usage.

However, what sets industrial property rights apart from general intellectual property rights is the necessity of registration. While copyrights come into existence with the creation of a work, industrial rights such as patents and brands require official registration with authoritative bodies, like the Turkish Patent Institute.

What are the Concepts Protected Under Turkish Industrial Property Law?

Turkish Industrial Property Law No. 6769 regulates the applications, registration and post-registration procedures regarding trademarks, geographical indications, designs, patents, utility models and traditional product names, and legal and criminal sanctions for the violation of these rights.

What Is Trademark?

In Turkish Law, a trademark is defined as any sign that differentiates the goods and services of a commercial enterprise from the goods and services of another enterprise, provided that it is capable of clearly and precisely identifying the scope of protection and can be displayed in the registry. The term of protection of a trade mark registered in Turkey is ten years from the date of the registration application for the trade mark. This term is renewed in periods of ten years.

What Is Patent?

In Turkish law, a patent is defined as a monopoly right that gives the inventor the right to prevent the production, sale, use and importation of the invention for a limited time and place. According to Article 82 of the Industrial Property Law; ‘Patents are granted to inventions in all fields of technology provided that they are new, contain an inventive step and are applicable to industry.’ Under Turkish law, the term of protection of a patent is twenty years starting from the date of application, and the term of protection of a utility model is ten years. These periods cannot be extended.

What is Design?

Design is the appearance of the whole or part of the product or the ornamentation on it, resulting from features such as line, shape, form, colour, material or surface texture. This definition is also stated in Article 55 of Law No. 6769. In the second paragraph of the same article, the product is defined as ‘any object produced industrially or manually, excluding computer programmes, as well as a combined product or its constituent parts, objects such as packaging, presentations of multiple objects perceived together, graphic symbols and typographic characters’. Under Turkish law, the term of protection of registered designs is five years from the date of application. This period may be extended up to a total of twenty-five years by renewal in five-year periods. The term of protection of unregistered designs is three years from the date of the first public presentation of the design for which protection is requested.

Our Expertise at Viridis Legal Partners

Secure your industrial assets with Viridis Legal Partners. Our English-speaking IP lawyers in Turkey offer specialised legal services, including but not limited to:

• Trademarks: Registering and protecting your trademarks to ensure brand recognition and security.
• Geographical Indication: Expert guidance on safeguarding the reputation and quality of your region’s distinctive products.
• Designs: Helping you register and shield your unique designs from infringements.
• Patents: Assisting you through the patent application process, ensuring your inventions remain safeguarded from unauthorized use.
• Utility Models: Aiding in registering utility models, focusing on your functional creations.

Our comprehensive approach to industrial property law ensures that you receive unparalleled guidance and support throughout every phase – from initial applications to ultimate protection, both within Turkey and internationally. Understanding the significance of safeguarding your intellectual and industrial assets, we’re here to ensure that each step is handled with utmost precision and expertise.