How to Register a Trademark in Turkey: Application Process, Choosing Classes and Common Mistakes

1. What does registration give you?

A trademark is any sign that distinguishes one business's goods or services from those of others and can be shown on the register clearly and precisely: words, personal names, figures, logos, colours, letters, numbers, sounds, or the shape of goods or their packaging (Industrial Property Law art. 4 [1]).

Under Industrial Property Law No. 6769 ("IPL"), trademark protection is obtained through registration (IPL art. 7 [1]). The owner of a registered mark can stop others, without consent, from:

• using an identical sign for the goods or services covered by the registration,
• using an identical or similar sign for identical or similar goods or services where there is a likelihood of confusion (the public may believe the goods come from the same business or are linked to it),
• using a sign without due cause in a way that takes unfair advantage of, or harms, the reputation or distinctive character of a mark that has reached a level of recognition in Turkey.

This can include use on packaging, in advertising, or as a trade name or business name; use as a domain name or keyword online can be prohibited where the conditions in the law are met (IPL art. 7(3)).

Unregistered use is not entirely unprotected: a person who acquired rights in an unregistered sign before someone else's application may oppose that application (IPL art. 6(3)), but must prove those rights with evidence.

2. Who can apply?

Turkish citizens; individuals and companies resident or carrying on industrial or commercial activity in Turkey; persons entitled to apply under the Paris Convention or the WTO Agreement; and, on a reciprocity basis, nationals of certain other states (IPL art. 3 [1]). You do not need to set up a company; individuals can apply.

Individuals and companies based in Turkey can deal with TÜRKPATENT themselves. Persons resident outside Turkey can act only through a trademark or patent attorney entered on the official register; steps they take without such an attorney are treated as not taken (IPL art. 160 [1]).

3. Which signs cannot be registered?

The Office examines absolute grounds for refusal of its own motion (IPL art. 16(1)). The main ones are (IPL art. 5 [1]):

Two important exceptions:

• A sign that was used before the filing date and acquired distinctiveness through that use for the goods and services concerned cannot be refused for lack of distinctiveness, descriptiveness or customary use (IPL art. 5(2)).
• If the earlier owner submits a notarised letter of consent, the application cannot be refused on the ground of identity with that earlier mark (IPL art. 5(3); Implementing Regulation art. 10 [2]).

Relative grounds for refusal are not examined by the Office of its own motion; they are considered only if the right holder files an opposition (IPL art. 6 [1]). These include likelihood of confusion with an earlier mark, well-known marks, unauthorised filings by an agent or representative, earlier unregistered signs, another person's name, photograph, trade name or copyright, and bad-faith applications.

4. Searching before you file

The law does not require a prior search, but an opposition that arrives after you have paid for signage, packaging and advertising may force a change of name. Registered marks and pending applications can be searched on TÜRKPATENT's Trademark Search [3] page. When searching:

• Look not only for the identical name but also for signs that sound, look or mean the same.
• Check related classes as well as your own. Goods and services in the same class are not presumed similar, and those in different classes are not presumed dissimilar (IPL art. 11(4) [1]).
• Check whether anyone is already using the name in the market; a person with earlier rights from use can oppose (IPL art. 6(3)).

A search gives no guarantee; similarity and likelihood of confusion are assessed case by case by the Office and the courts.

5. How to choose classes

Goods and services are classified under the international Nice Classification (IPL art. 11(3)). The 2026 version of the 13th edition, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), entered into force on 1 January 2026 (WIPO [4]).

Applications to TÜRKPATENT are based on the Office's own Goods and Services Classification List, prepared in line with the Nice Classification and published in the Official Gazette. The list groups goods into 34 classes and services into 11 (TÜRKPATENT Communiqué 2026/2 [5], arts. 1 and 3). When the Office checks of its own motion for identical earlier marks, "same-type" goods and services are also determined by the groups in this list, although the Office may read the groups more broadly where needed (Communiqué art. 3(4)). TÜRKPATENT's Nice classification page [6] links to the WIPO list and to tools for searching goods and services in Turkish.

The application form must state the class numbers and a list of goods and services drafted in line with them (Implementing Regulation arts. 5 and 9 [2]). The scope of protection is determined by reference to the registered goods and services (IPL art. 7(2)), and every additional class costs extra.

The table below, based on the Nice class headings, is only a starting point; a business often falls into several classes and the right list depends on its actual activity:

Common mistakes when choosing classes

• Drafting the list without checking the Office's classification list. Some groups in the Office's list are drafted as general headings; these cover all goods or services within their definition in the relevant Nice class (Communiqué art. 3(2)). General terms that are not in the list are interpreted to cover what their literal meaning clearly covers; the Office gives two months to clarify terms it considers unclear, and if no clarification is given, those terms are removed from the list (Implementing Regulation art. 9(3)–(4)).
• Assuming class 35 protects your products. According to the Nice explanatory notes, the sale of goods is not in itself a service for classification purposes. Class 35 covers the "bringing together" of goods as a retail activity; the products themselves belong to their own goods classes. Under the Office's list, only goods or groups of goods may be entered in the blank of this service description (Communiqué art. 3(5)).
• Expecting to add goods later. Corrections after filing are limited to spelling mistakes and obvious errors that do not change the mark or the list of goods and services (IPL art. 11(6)). The application can be narrowed before registration by partial withdrawal (IPL art. 28(3) and (5)), but adding new goods or services requires a new application.
• Choosing many classes you do not need. Each extra class costs a fee, and a mark not genuinely used within five years of registration for the goods and services concerned can be revoked for those goods and services (IPL arts. 9 and 26).

6. How does the application process work?

1. Electronic filing. The application is made by completing the Office's form electronically (Implementing Regulation art. 5(1) [2]) through TÜRKPATENT's EPATS [7] system, which is accessed with an e-Devlet (Turkish e-government) password. To act for a company, the authorised person first files a "legal entity representative notification" in the system (TÜRKPATENT guide [8]). Applicants resident abroad file through a registered attorney.
2. Contents. The applicant's identity details, the representation of the mark, the list of goods and services and proof of payment are required. If the mark contains non-Latin characters, their Latin equivalent is needed; if priority based on an earlier foreign application is claimed, the priority details and the priority claim fee are added (IPL arts. 11(1), 12 and 13). Each application may cover only one mark (IPL art. 11(2)). Sound, colour, three-dimensional and motion marks have special representation rules (Implementing Regulation art. 7 [2]; TÜRKPATENT [9]).
3. Filing date. The filing date is the date, hour and minute on which the form, the representation of the mark, the list of goods and services and proof of payment of the filing fee reach the Office (IPL art. 15; Implementing Regulation art. 8(2)). It matters because priority between conflicting marks is decided by this date.
4. Formal examination. If something is missing, the applicant has two months to remedy it. Where a core element was missing, the filing date becomes the moment it is supplied; an application not remedied in time is removed from processing (IPL art. 15 [1]).
5. Absolute grounds examination. The Office examines the application under IPL art. 5 and may refuse it for some or all of the goods and services (IPL art. 16(1)).
6. Publication. An application that is not refused is published in the Bulletin (IPL art. 16(2)). Until registration, anyone may submit written, reasoned observations that the mark should be refused on absolute grounds other than identity with an earlier mark (IPL art. 17).
7. Opposition. Interested parties may file a reasoned opposition within two months of publication; the grounds and the opposition fee must be submitted within that period (IPL art. 18 [1]). If an opposition is filed, the applicant is given one month to respond (Implementing Regulation art. 28(4)). If the opposition is based on likelihood of confusion (IPL art. 6(1)) and the opposing mark had been registered in Turkey for at least five years on your filing date, you can ask the opponent to prove genuine use in Turkey during the five years before your filing date, or proper reasons for non-use (IPL art. 19(2)). This request must be made clearly and in writing within the period for your response (Implementing Regulation art. 29(1)). The Office may encourage the parties to settle (IPL art. 19(4)).
8. Appeal and court action. A decision of the Office can be appealed to the Office within two months of notification; the grounds cannot be changed or extended after that period (IPL art. 20 [1]). Appeals are decided by the Board within the Re-examination and Evaluation Department, whose decision is the Office's final decision (IPL art. 21). Lawsuits against the Office's decisions are heard by the Ankara Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights Civil Court (IPL art. 156(2) [1]).
9. Registration fee and registration. If there is no opposition, or all oppositions are finally rejected, the Office gives two months to pay the registration fee. If it is not paid in time, the application is removed from processing; once paid, the mark is entered on the register and the registration is published in the Bulletin (IPL art. 22; Implementing Regulation art. 12 [2]).

How long does it take? The law sets no overall time limit from filing to registration. It depends on whether there are deficiencies or oppositions and on the Office's workload. At a minimum, the two-month opposition period after publication must expire before registration.

7. Trademark fees

The main trademark fees announced on TÜRKPATENT's website for 2026 are (TÜRKPATENT [10]):

• The fees are based on the Office's 2026 fee Communiqué [11]. Under the Communiqué, VAT and any applicable duty are added to the Office fee set in the Communiqué; payment is made through the electronic filing system or by credit card (Communiqué arts. 1 and 10). The amounts in the table are the resulting totals, including VAT and duty. The exact amount is the one shown in the system at the time of payment.
• Unless the law provides otherwise, fees are not refunded (IPL art. 161(4)), so as a rule you will not get the fee back if the application is refused.
• Fees are set every year; the amounts above apply to 2026 only.

8. After registration

• Term and renewal. Protection lasts ten years from the filing date. Renewal is requested within the six months before expiry; if that window is missed, renewal is still possible within six months after expiry on payment of an additional fee (IPL art. 23 [1]). After that, the right ends (IPL art. 28).
• Use requirement. A mark not genuinely used in Turkey within five years of registration without good reason, or whose use has been suspended for five uninterrupted years, can be revoked on request (IPL art. 9 [1]). Use in a modified form that does not alter the distinctive character, use on goods or packaging solely for export, and use by another person with the owner's consent also count as use. Since 10 January 2024, revocation requests have been filed with TÜRKPATENT rather than the courts (IPL arts. 26 and 192 and provisional art. 4).
• Watching for similar applications. If no opposition is filed against a similar application within the two-month period and the mark is registered, an invalidity action may be brought in court if the conditions are met (IPL art. 25 [1]). An owner who knew or should have known of a later mark's use and remained silent for five consecutive years cannot rely on its mark to invalidate that later mark, unless the later registration was made in bad faith (IPL art. 25(6)).

9. Common mistakes in trademark applications

• Choosing a descriptive or customary name. Names that describe the kind, quality or geographical origin of the product may be refused on absolute grounds (IPL art. 5(1)(c), (d)). Invented names, or names with no direct link to the product, usually carry less risk in this respect.
• Filing in the wrong person's name. The mark is registered in the applicant's name. Filing a mark that the company will use in the name of one of its shareholders can lead to disputes later. A mark can be assigned afterwards (IPL art. 148), but this is a separate procedure with its own fee (2026 assignment recordal fee: TRY 5,960.00).
• Changing the logo and relying on the old application. No correction that changes the representation of the mark can be made after filing (IPL art. 11(6)). After registration, use that changes the distinctive character of the mark may not count as use of the registered mark (IPL art. 9(2)).
• Paying fake fee requests. In a notice dated 16 September 2026, TÜRKPATENT stated that it never calls applicants to request fees, that its only official website is turkpatent.gov.tr and that suspicious requests can be checked with its call centre on +90 312 303 1 303 (TÜRKPATENT notice [12]).

10. Hypothetical example

This example is entirely hypothetical. Ayşe plans to open a patisserie that also serves as a café and to sell packaged cookies online. She learns that her first idea, "Fresh Cookies", directly describes the product and may be refused, so she chooses the invented name "Velorya". She finds no identical or very similar record on TÜRKPATENT's search page. She files in class 30 (cookies, pastries) and class 43 (café services) and, according to TÜRKPATENT's 2026 fee page, pays 2,820 + 2,820 = TRY 5,640 for a two-class application. The application is published. Within two months, the owner of "Velora", registered in class 30 for seven years, opposes. Ayşe responds within one month and, within the same period, asks in writing for proof of the opponent's use during the five years before her filing date. After assessing the evidence, the Office rejects the opposition. Ayşe pays the registration fee within the two months given and her mark is registered; protection runs for ten years from the filing date.

11. Frequently asked questions

Can I use my mark while the application is pending?

The law does not prohibit use during the application. However, trademark rights take effect against third parties from the date the registration is published. Damages can be claimed for infringing acts after the application is published, but the court cannot decide on the claim before the registration is published (IPL art. 7(4)). If your application conflicts with someone else's earlier right, your own use may also be challenged.

Does a Turkish registration protect me abroad?

A Turkish registration, as a rule, gives protection in Turkey. For protection abroad you can file separately in each country or, based on your Turkish application or registration, file an international application under the Madrid Protocol through TÜRKPATENT (Implementing Regulation art. 25 [2]; TÜRKPATENT [13]).

Someone has applied to register the name I use. What can I do?

You can oppose within two months of publication in the Bulletin, for example on the basis of earlier rights acquired through use or a bad-faith filing (IPL arts. 6(3), 6(9) and 18). If that period has passed and the mark has been registered, an invalidity action may be possible if the conditions are met (IPL art. 25).

Should I file a word mark or a logo?

Each application may cover only one mark, so the word and the logo can be filed separately (IPL art. 11(2)). Whether one or both are needed depends on how the mark will be used and which element is distinctive.

Can I withdraw my application?

Yes. The applicant can withdraw the application before the mark is registered (IPL art. 28(5)). Fees paid are, as a rule, not refunded (IPL art. 161(4)).