Trademark and Patent Attorney Work in Turkey

Applicants who are not domiciled in Turkey must act through a registered Turkish trademark and patent attorney. This page sets out how that relationship works in practice for foreign companies and their outside counsel.

Who May Act Before TÜRKPATENT

Applicants and owners who do not have a domicile or a place of business in Turkey cannot deal with TÜRKPATENT directly. They must act through a trademark and patent attorney entered on the official register kept for that purpose. The requirement covers the whole life of a right, from filing and examination through oppositions, renewals, recordals and cancellation proceedings, so the representative appointed at the outset usually remains the point of contact for the file.

In practice the appointed attorney receives official correspondence, calculates the resulting deadlines and reports them to the client or the instructing firm. Because notifications are served on the representative rather than on the foreign owner, the reliability of that channel matters more than any other single factor in a foreign portfolio. Keeping one representative for related marks and patents also avoids gaps where a notice reaches a firm no longer instructed on the file.

Registered Attorney and Lawyer: The Difference

Turkish practice distinguishes two roles. A registered trademark and patent attorney, known as a vekil, is qualified to represent applicants before TÜRKPATENT and to conduct office procedure. A lawyer, known as an avukat and admitted to a bar association, represents clients before the courts. The two qualifications are separate, and many office representatives are not lawyers, while many lawyers are not entered on the register of trademark and patent attorneys.

Where one person holds both qualifications, an office file and any resulting litigation can be handled without transferring the matter. That continuity is useful because appeals against office decisions, invalidity and revocation actions and infringement claims are conducted in court. It is also worth noting that criminal sanctions exist in Turkey only for trademark infringement; patent, utility model and design infringement is pursued through civil proceedings, which affects how an enforcement strategy is built.

The Power of Attorney and Its Use

A power of attorney is the document by which the owner authorises the Turkish representative to act. It is used to file applications, respond to office actions, file and defend oppositions, request renewals and recordals, withdraw or limit applications, and receive official notifications. A general power covering industrial property matters is common, so that the same document can serve a portfolio rather than being executed again for each new filing.

Formal requirements vary with the type of matter and the identity of the signatory, and notarisation or legalisation may be needed in some situations and not in others. These requirements should be confirmed for the specific matter rather than assumed from earlier files or from practice in another jurisdiction. Court proceedings have their own requirements for authority documents, so a power prepared only for office work may need to be supplemented before litigation begins.

Instructions and Deadlines for Foreign Associates

Most foreign work arrives as written instructions from in-house counsel or an instructing firm, with the mark or invention details, the classes or claims, the priority information and the applicant particulars. Clear instructions in a single message reduce the exchanges needed before filing. Where a deadline is close, an early note of the deadline and the minimum information needed to meet it is generally more useful than a complete file that arrives too late.

Deadlines are calculated from the date of official notification to the representative, so the effective time available is always shorter than it appears from the date a report reaches the client. Sensible practice is to report the deadline immediately, propose a recommended course, and set an internal cut-off ahead of the official date for receiving instructions. Documents that require signature abroad should be requested at the earliest point, not at the end.

Reporting, Fees and Scope of Work

Reporting for foreign clients is normally in writing and in English, covering the filing receipt and application number, publication, office actions with the deadline and a recommendation, oppositions filed or received, and the final decision with the registration details. Copies of official documents are sent with a short explanation, because the originals are issued in Turkish. Annual or periodic status lists are useful for portfolios of any size and can be aligned with the client's own records.

Official fees are set by the published tariff of TÜRKPATENT and must be confirmed from that tariff at the time of the action, while professional fees are quoted per matter before work begins. The scope of an engagement should state what is included, what will be reported and who bears translation costs. This page is general information and not legal advice; current requirements should be confirmed before any step is taken in a particular case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Must a foreign company appoint a Turkish representative?

Yes. Applicants without a domicile or place of business in Turkey must act through a registered trademark and patent attorney in all proceedings before TÜRKPATENT.

Does the power of attorney have to be notarised?

It depends on the matter and the proceedings involved. Notarisation or legalisation requirements should be confirmed for the specific case rather than assumed.

Can the same person handle office work and court cases?

Only if that person is both a registered trademark and patent attorney and a lawyer admitted to a bar association, since the two qualifications are separate.