The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“Office”) was used to notify the applicants of international registrations under the Madrid System about the oppositions (of third parties against the publication of the trademark applications designating Turkey) only after the Office has decided on the merits of the opposition without granting the international applicant a right to file a response petition against the opposition. However, the defense of non-use could only be submitted by the applicant in the response petition to be submitted against the opposition. Although the respective decision of the Office on the opposition could be appealed before the Re-examination and Evaluation Board of the Office, it was impossible to submit a defense of non-use at the appeal stage. This issue was criticized as it caused unequal treatment between national applications and applications filed through the Madrid System.
Although no official announcement has been made so far, we have been informed that the Office has recently changed its practice. Accordingly, the Office has started to notify international applicants just after the opposition and to grant them the right to file a response petition against the opposition before the decision of the Office. Thus, international applicants may now submit a non-use defense in their response petitions against oppositions and can ensure that the oppositions are dismissed if necessary conditions are met. Click here to access our previous article examining the conditions of the non-use defense.
Please note that the defense of non-use along with the response petition must be submitted within one month from the date of notification of the opposition. International applicants should be particularly careful in the timing of the respective filings, as we have been verbally informed by the Office that the system between the WIPO and the Office evidencing the date of notification of the oppositions has not yet been established.
For further queries, please contact:
Dogukan Berk Aksoy, LL.M.
Attorney at Law | Trademark Attorney | Patent Attorney
T: +90 312 969 09 63