Turkey is a party to the European Patent Convention (EPC). European patents validated in Turkey are published in the Turkish Patent Bulletin and have the effect of a national patent. In this short article, we examine the main rules on the validation of European patents in Turkey.

Deadline for Validation Applications

Applications for the validation of a European patent must be filed before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TPTO) within three months from the date of publication of the decision to grant the European patent in the European Patent Bulletin. It is not possible to request an extension for this deadline.

Turkish Translation Requirement

A translation of the patent specification (i.e., description, claims, and drawings) into Turkish must be submitted. Normally, the Turkish translation must be filed together with the validation application. However, a three-month extension may be requested only for the submission of the translation, provided that such request is filed within the same three-month deadline for the validation application and upon payment of an additional fee.

Official Fees for Validation Applications

The official fees for validation applications, including publication fees and any applicable extension fees, must be paid at the time of filing.

Annual fees, which become due after the date of publication of the grant in the European Patent Bulletin, must also be paid to the TPTO.

The official fees can be accessed on our website or shared upon request together with our fee schedules.

Publication of Claims and Amended/Limited Specification

For provisional protection before the grant, the applicant may also request publication of the claims in Turkey. If requested, the application must be filed within three months from the publication of the claims in the European Patent Bulletin, along with the Turkish translation of the claims and abstract and payment of the relevant publication fee.

If the European patent is amended due to opposition or limited by the applicant, the Turkish translation of the amended or limited version must be submitted to the TPTO within three months from its publication date in the European Patent Bulletin, together with the relevant publication fee.

Patent Attorney Requirement

Applicants residing outside of Turkey must be represented by a Turkish patent attorney. However, no power of attorney is required for a validation application. For us to access the information required for filing, we will only need the application number of the relevant European patent.