BUSINESS BRIEF: TURKEY
BUSINESS BRIEF: TURKEY Patents
How do you register or secure patent rights, and is national or international coverage most appropriate?
Tere are three ways to obtain patent rights before the Turkish Patent Institute: (i) by filing a conventional (national) patent application; (ii) by nationalising through the international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT); or (iii) by the European Patent Convention (EPC) route.
All of these are equivalent in view of the
enforcement of the rights on the others and have the same protection term of 20 years. Te conventional route takes three to four years as one prior art search and three-tier examination system is applied. Most foreign patent applicants prefer to take advantage of EPC route.
What are the costs for obtaining a patent, and what are the costs of defending it?
Te costs for obtaining a national patent substantively change in respect of the scope and volume of the patent specifications due to the translation requirement, availability of a different search and examination authorities (Danish, Austrian, Russian, Sweden and European patent offices), number of the examinations (up to three) and attorney fees.
Official fee for validating a granted European patent in Turkey is about €235 and attorney fees and translation costs should be added thereto.
Where can you find information on existing patents in your jurisdiction?
A free online search service is available on www.
tpe.gov.tr. Bibliographic data, actions on the patent file and patent status are viewable through this online service.
Is there anything unusual about the patent law that companies should be aware of, and what are the most common mistakes businesses make?
Turkish patent law is quite rigid as to the
deadlines. Unlike that in many countries, the Turkish patent system provides a 12-month grace period for disclosure of the invention before filing the patent application.
A patent applicant may ask for a short-term (non-examined) patent aſter having the search report
for a seven-year protection. Tis can
be converted into an examined patent within the said period if the applicant or any third party pays for the examination costs directly or through an invalidation court action.
What are the key threats to patent owners, and what is the best strategy if you suspect
someone is infringing your patent? Infringement is a big problem. At the first instance, a notarised cease and desist letter may be sent to the alleged infringer but is not obligatory. In case of no reply or non-acceptance of the infringement and persistence of the alleged infringement actions, the next step should be criminal or civil actions to be filed before the courts.
Have there been any changes to the patent law(s) in the last 12 months?
Te only changes that have been made are to the implementing regulations of
Law, making the quality and nature of
the Patent the
documents clearer with respect to change of name, assignment, merger, as well as the powers of attorney for preventing any abuse.
Trademarks
How do you register or secure trademark rights, and what protection does it grant? Te trademark procedures cover formal examination, substantive examination on absolute grounds, publication of
application, a trademark registration can be obtained in 12 to 14 months.
Based on the registered trademark, the right holders take civil or criminal action or initiate the preliminary injunctions dependent on the nature of the case where any infringement of rights occurred.
What are the key threats to trademark owners, and what is the best strategy for dealing with infringement?
Te owners of well known trademarks should be careful about bad faith or confusingly similar trademark applications as well as counterfeiting and internet sales of others by monitoring published applications, without limiting
the
surveillance to the specific classes but keeping it as broad as possible to all similar classes.
Apart from the civil and criminal proceedings against infringers, one other measure against infringers is to register the trademarks online in the customs registry, enabling the customs authorities to monitor any counterfeiting actions related to the registered trademark.
What are the most common mistakes trademark owners make?
Tere are four rules of effective trademark protection: register, watch, use and enforce your mark in Turkey. Where the use of a trademark is discontinued for the last five years, a third party can file a case based on non-use and cancel it before the court.
three-month
period and examination on opposition, as well as appeal procedures where refusal has come forward due to substantive examination or examination on opposition. For a straightforward
136 World Intellectual Property Review Annual 2014
Trademark clearance and availability searches are mostly overlooked by the foreign trademark owners. Besides, if you attempt to register your mark lately, do not forget that a letter of consent is not allowed to overcome ex officio refusals.
Have there been any changes to the trademarks law(s) in the last 12 months?
No major changes but there have been a few on the implementing regulations of the Trademark
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