The distinguishing features of products protected under registered intellectual property rights, as compared to competing products, constitute a key reason for preference among informed consumers. Maintaining the protection of a registered intellectual property right is therefore important both for producers who derive economic benefit and for consumers who benefit from such products.
Under the Industrial Property Law No. 6769, the term of protection for a registered trademark is ten years from the filing date. This period can be renewed indefinitely in successive ten-year terms, with no upper limit on the number of renewals. If a renewal request is not filed within the prescribed period or if proof of payment of the renewal fee is not submitted to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, renewal may still be requested within a six-month grace period following the expiry date, subject to payment of an additional fee.
The term of protection for registered designs is five years from the filing date. This period may be extended up to a total of twenty-five years through successive five-year renewals. Since the initial five-year term begins from the filing date, renewal may be requested up to four times at five-year intervals. The renewal request must be filed within the six months preceding the expiry of the protection period, and proof of payment of the renewal fee must be submitted within the same period. If these requirements are not fulfilled within the prescribed time, renewal may still be requested within six months following the expiry date, subject to payment of an additional fee.
The term of protection for patents is twenty years from the filing date, while utility models are protected for ten years. These periods are not extendable. Annual fees required for maintaining a patent application or a granted patent must be paid throughout the protection period, starting from the end of the second year following the filing date and continuing annually on their respective due dates. If an annual fee is not paid on time, it may still be paid within a six-month grace period with an additional fee. If the fee is not paid within this period, the patent right expires as of the due date. A notification of expiration is issued and published in the Bulletin. If a reinstatement fee is paid within two months from the notification date, the patent right is reinstated as of the payment date and this is also published in the Bulletin.
Pursuant to the Industrial Property Law No. 6769, a patent must be put to use within three years from the publication of the grant decision in the Bulletin or four years from the filing date, whichever expires later. According to Article 117/8 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial Property Law, patents for which no statement of use has been submitted within the prescribed period are published by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office in the Bulletin. Third parties may then apply to the court for the grant of a compulsory licence in respect of such patents.
To avoid the risk of compulsory licensing, the patent owner or its attorney must submit to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office a declaration of use or non-use, or a licence offer, within four years from the filing date or three years from the publication date in the Bulletin. No supporting documents are required for declarations of use or non-use; the submission itself is treated as a declaration. If the patented product is still under development or production has not yet started for other reasons, a record of non-use may be filed before the Office.
If the patent owner is unable to submit a declaration of use or non-use within the prescribed period, a licence offer may be recorded before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. In such a case, the patent owner retains the discretion to accept or reject any licence requests arising from this record. However, if neither a declaration of use/non-use nor a licence offer is recorded, and a compulsory licence action is brought, the decision rests with the court, and a compulsory licence may be granted to third parties.
In order to mitigate the risk of compulsory licensing, it is essential to ensure that one of the following actions—use, non-use, or licence offer—is duly recorded before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office within the specified time limits.
