Designs are protected within the scope of Industrial Property Law No. 6769, which entered into force as of January 10, 2017. Turkey is also a signatory to Locarno Agreement as from November 30, 1998 and Hague Agreement as from January 1, 2005.
Unregistered Designs
Under the Industrial Property Law, unregistered designs are protected for three years from the date on which the design is first made available to the public in Turkey and the owner of the unregistered design shall prevent the copying of the design, provided that it meets the criteria of novelty and distinctiveness. It is not possible to file an application to protect unregistered designs.
Registered Designs
The term of the registered designs is 5 years from the filing date and it can be renewed every 5 years for a total of 25 years. A right of priority can be used during a period of six months from the date of filing of the first application. Multiple design applications are also possible on condition that designs are in the same Locarno subclass.
VALITRA helps its clients in all aspects of protecting and enforcing design rights. The major services provided are:
- filing and prosecuting industrial design applications,
- design searches in TURKPATENT Registry,
- watching services,
- renewals
- legal services.
Design Applications
When filing for an industrial design application, following documents are required:
- application form,
- name and contact information of the applicant,
- representation of the design (drawing, picture, graphic, etc.) (8×8 – 16x16cm),
- a copy of the POA (notarization is not required),
- payment of the official filing fee,
Apart from these documents, a copy of the priority document and its certified translation into Turkish must be submitted, if claimed.
Design Renewals
According to Industrial Property Law No. 6769, a design registration is valid for 5 years from the filing date. In order to maintain the design, it can be renewed every 5 years up to 4 times. The application for renewal may be filed within six months prior to the expiration date. Designs can also be renewed within six months following the expiration date with a surcharge.