The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“Office”) has published the newly updated version of the Trademark Examination Guidelines (“Guidelines”) on its website on 18 August 2021. The updated version of the Guidelines, which are available only in Turkish, may be accessed here.
The explanations in the previous version of the Guidelines, which were published in 2019, were limited to the absolute grounds for refusal that are listed in Article 5 of the Industrial Property Code (“Code”).
In this new version of the Guidelines, an additional 300 pages of explanations have been provided with respect to the application of Article 6 (1) of the Code, which is the likelihood of confusion, the most common relative ground for refusal. In these mentioned pages, detailed principles and numerous examples are provided as to important matters, such as:
Comparison of goods and services (not only in the same class but also in different classes of goods and/or services),
Relevant public and degree of attention.
Comparison of signs,
Distinctiveness of the earlier mark.
The Guidelines reflect the most recent practices of the Office, Turkish courts, and EU institutions, and aim to serve as an explanatory document for consistency in the Office’s decisions. Although the Guidelines do not have any legally binding force, we, attorneys, are also happy to have access to such a document, which we can use to support our arguments in the proceedings before the Office and courts.
For further queries, please contact:
Dogukan Berk Aksoy, LL.M.
Attorney at Law | Trademark Attorney | Patent Attorney
T: +90 312 969 09 63