Akkas & Associates Turkish trademark attorneys help clients obtain, protect and enforce intellectual property rights; patents, trademarks, design patents, and copyrights in Turkey. Our trademark attorneys in Turkey provide a broad range of trademark services including; trademark application, registration, and protection such as litigation, appeals, opposition, cancellation, renewals, assignment, monitoring, search, and licensing.
Our attorneys also represent our clients before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office for patent, trademark, design patent law, and utility model applications, appeals, and oppositions as well. Our clients range from Fortune 500 companies to emerging companies to individuals. More specifically, the firm’s IP attorneys regularly counsel clients about patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
We’re Turkish Trademark Attorneys
Our Turkish trademark attorneys are ready to provide trademark law services in Turkey. In an economy largely driven by brand recognition, establishing and protecting company names and trademarks is critical. Today more than ever, a business’ unique identity, reputation, and brand provide a tangible return on investment and a critical competitive advantage. A well-thought-out and executed branding strategy can yield significant income based on the perception of one’s trademarks in the marketplace.
Akkas & Associates Turkish Trademark Attorneys handle trademarks for a wide range of companies, large, small, domestic, and foreign in Turkey. Turkish Trademark Law is governed by 6769 numbered Intellectual Property laws.
We draw on our significant experience and blend it with a realistic understanding of the business environment so as to wisely, but practically, apply the law to meet clients’ trademark needs to yield commercially viable solutions.
Further, we manage our trademark practice with a team of skilled lawyers and legal assistants to provide our clients with customized, client-focused, prompt, proactive, and value-added services.
Turkish Trademark Attorneys Services
We offer our clients the full range of legal services encompassed by a branding strategy:
- Trademark application and registration
- Prosecution and maintenance of trademarks
- Principal and supplemental registrations
- Counseling, including trademark use and portfolio management
- Transactions, such as licensing, assignment, and franchising
- Due diligence arising from various transactions involving trademarks
- Trademark infringement analysis
- Civil litigation includes infringement, dilution cases, and counterfeiting
- Turkish Patent and Trademark Office litigation, including opposition and cancellation
To permit our clients to capitalize on their brands and trademarks, Akkas & Associates Turkish Trademark Attorneys assist our clients in identifying, evaluating, and protecting important trademark properties to help them achieve the most effective protection for their proprietary trademarks and service marks.
Further, we help our clients develop coherent brand strategies for registering and protecting their marks, in both the manner and jurisdictions that afford the greatest protection and in the context of their business goals and budgets.
In this regard, our attorneys manage multinational trademark portfolios and work with an extended network of trademark attorneys and agents in every significant market and jurisdiction around the world.
The services of Akkas & Associates’ Turkish trademark lawyers go beyond the protection and defense of trademarks to the broader field of unfair competition law, including trade dress infringement, false advertising, deceptive trade practices, misappropriation, passing off, defamation, right of publicity, parody, counterfeiting, and related issues.
Turkish Trademark Application Attorneys
Our Turkish trademark agents are ready to provide trademark application services in Turkey. Akkas & Associates handles trademark application & registration, opposition against a trademark application, and trademark infringement lawsuits for a wide range of companies. We draw on our significant experience and blend it with a realistic understanding of the business environment so as to wisely, but practically, apply the law to meet clients’ trademark needs to yield commercially viable solutions.
Further, we manage our trademark practice with a team of skilled Turkish Trademark Lawyers and legal assistants to provide our clients with customized, client-focused, prompt, proactive, and value-added services.
To permit our clients to capitalize on their brands and trademarks, Akkas & Associates Turkish Trademark Attorneys assist our clients in identifying, evaluating, and protecting important trademark properties to help them achieve the most effective protection for their proprietary trademarks and service marks.
Further, we help our clients develop coherent brand strategies for registering and protecting their marks, in both the manner and jurisdictions that afford the greatest protection and in the context of their business goals and budgets. In this regard, our attorneys manage multinational trademark portfolios and work with an extended network of trademark attorneys and agents in every significant market and jurisdiction around the world.
Akkas & Associates’ global trademark counseling incorporates all of the various registration vehicles available to its clients. Our attorneys have routinely counseled clients on the pros and cons of the international registration system for trademarks. Likewise, we work with our clients to develop strategies for “first to file” countries and “first to use” countries, as well as “use-based” countries and “intent-to-use” countries. And of course, our attorneys have an intimate knowledge of the Turkish Trademarks Code, known as the statute that encompasses trademarks.
The services of Akkas & Associates go beyond the protection and defense of trademarks to the broader field of unfair competition law, including trade dress infringement, false advertising, deceptive trade practices, misappropriation, passing off, defamation, right of publicity, parody, counterfeiting, and related issues.
Turkish Trademark Registration
Our Turkish trademark attorneys are ready to provide trademark registration services in Turkey. The trademark services to our clients begin at a mark’s inception. At the first stage of the development of a branding strategy, we provide assistance in the identification of potential marks. In today’s crowded market, choosing potential marks that can mature into a unique, competitive brand name is often daunting, particularly when there is a desire to marry a mark with an available domain name.
We offer educational seminars on the proper selection of trademarks. In this early stage of development, we also conduct clearance searches to determine the availability of trademarks. We offer our clients proactive advice during the selection process and render clearance opinions on marks of interest. We draw upon our extensive litigation experience to guide our approach to counseling, prosecution, enforcement, ad review, and due diligence.
Of course, brand recognition is often more than just a word or logo. Akkas & Associates Turkish Trademark Attorneys have significant experience in trade dress, package design, graphics, product configuration, collective membership marks, certification marks, trade names, Internet domain names, and even the use of color or sound as a trademark.
Further, our counsel draws upon the interplay between intersecting bodies of intellectual property law, such as copyrights, design patents, and utility patents. For example, we have experience in handling the full scope of Internet and e-commerce issues that can erode one’s trademark rights, including data mining, hyper-linking, domain name disputes, meta tags, cyber-squatting, pay-for-placement, and web-related copyright and trademark infringement.
Turkish Trademark Application Services
In an economy largely driven by brand recognition, establishing and protecting company names and trademarks is critical. Today more than ever, a business’ unique identity, reputation, and brand provide a tangible return on investment and a critical competitive advantage. A well-thought-out and executed branding strategy can yield significant income based on the perception of one’s trademarks in the marketplace.
Collectively, Akkas & Associates Turkish Trademark Attorneys offer our clients the full range of legal services encompassed by a branding strategy:
- Selection and clearance of trademarks
- Prosecution and maintenance of trademarks in Turkey and Europe
- Principal and supplemental registrations
- Counseling, including trademark use and portfolio management
- Transactions, such as licensing, distribution, private labeling, and franchising
- Due diligence arising from various transactions involving trademarks
- Trademark infringement analysis
- Civil litigation includes infringement, dilution cases, and counterfeiting
- Turkish Patent Institute litigation, including opposition and cancellation
Turkish Trademark Appeals Services
Our Turkish trademark attorneys are ready to provide trademark appeal services in Turkey. Akkas & Associates Turkish Trademark Attorneys handle trademark registration, opposition against a trademark application, and trademark infringement lawsuits for a wide range of companies.
We draw on our significant experience and blend it with a realistic understanding of the business environment so as to wisely, but practically, apply the law to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TPTO) is the administrative authority dealing with the intellectual property rights registration process in Turkey.
TPTO has separate departments for trademarks, patents, and designs. The decisions of these departments may be appealed within two months, and the Re-examination and Evaluation Board of TPTO gives the final decision in the administrative process.
All final decisions of TPTO are subject to statutory audit. Objectors may file a lawsuit against unfavorable decisions before the specialized Civil IP Court in Ankara, which is the competent court for all cases filed against TPTO. This lawsuit must be filed within two months of the notification of TPTO’s final decision.
Ankara Civil IP Court decides the correctness or cancellation of the final decision of TPTO. There have been many cases, and TPTO has recently started to give acceptable decisions through the continuous improvement and consolidation of case law. The IP Court of the first instance and the Supreme Court play a big role in establishing and maintaining legitimacy and stability in this field, which is quite new for all practitioners.
Turkish Trademark Assignment Services
Our Turkish trademark attorneys are ready to provide trademark assignment services in Turkey. Akkas & Associates‘ Turkish Trademark Attorneys have represented both the assignees and assignors in various trademark assignments for trademarks that were registered in Turkey. Our attorneys sometimes prepared assignment agreements for our clients and follow up on the assignment procedures. In some cases, our attorneys proceeded with an assignment that was prepared in the assignee/assignor’s country.
In general, trademarks are typically transferred by assignment during the acquisition of a business or business division, and when a business attempts to gain greater, more senior rights in a certain mark to gain an advantage over a competitor. Both scenarios can foster an invalid transfer of a trademark regardless of the intentions of the parties involved.
In the business acquisition, the buyer of a business reasonably expects to receive the trademarks that represent the acquired business and serve as the repository of goodwill for the business. If the trademark is one that is recognized by the customers of the acquired business, or any portion of the public, then it is an asset with substantial value, albeit one that is difficult to quantify.
Similarly, the seller of a business should reasonably expect to part with the attendant trademarks that promote and identify the business and may expect to receive a premium for them if the trademarks are particularly well known within a definable market. Properly executed, a trademark assignment allows the assignee to step into the shoes of the assignor, gaining whatever goodwill the assignor has built up, and whatever priority the assignor has in the mark against others.
The second situation, the priority contest, usually results from a declared or impending trademark infringement dispute, where two or more businesses using the same trademark are competing for the sole ownership rights to the mark.
Because trademark rights in Turkey are determined by priority in time, an enterprising company will often attempt to acquire an assignment of an older, identical trademark in order to establish a pattern of use that predates that of its competitors. Sometimes the buyer in this situation will intend to use the purchased trademark as a part of its business. Typically, the purchaser in this scenario intends to buy a form of priority as an asset.
Turkish Trademark Opposition Services
Our Turkish trademark attorneys are ready to provide trademark opposition services in Turkey. An opposition is a proceeding in which one party is seeking to prevent the registration of another party’s trademark. If the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TPTO) approves that a trademark application meets the criteria of a trademark, the application will be published in the Official Trademark Bulletin, so that it will be made available to the public for review.
In this case, a trademark application will be published for 2 months. During this period of 2 months, real persons, legal entities and professional associations will be entitled to file an opposition before TPTO to object to a trademark application on the grounds that they already own it, a trademark application is similar to their own trademark, or the trademark application breaches copyright, etc., provided that documents proving such allegation must be enclosed to such letter of objection.
To successfully prosecute an opposition, the opposer must plead and prove two things that he is likely to be damaged by a registration of the mark; and there are valid grounds as to why the trademark applicant is not entitled under law to register.
In terms of pleading, all the opposer needs to do is set forth in the notice of opposition a short statement showing how he would be damaged by the registration of the trademark, and state his grounds for opposition. The opposer is bound by the grounds pleaded in its notice. Neither administrative tribunals nor the courts will consider grounds not previously raised in the notice of opposition or cancellation.
Such opposition and the documents enclosed thereto will be sent to the applicant or its attorney in order to enable them to prepare an answer. The applicant or its attorney must present its answer to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office within 1 month after receiving the above-mentioned opposition.
Both the opposition and its evidence documents and the answer given to it will be reviewed by the Re-Evaluation and Examination Board (REEB) of TPTO.
Any person who believes that he would be damaged by the registration of a trademark may file an opposition before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office within two months of the publication of said mark.
Turkish Trademark Refusals Services
Our trademark lawyers in Turkey provide trademark refusal services. Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TPTO) reviews each trademark application, and if concludes that the application has the characteristics needed to be a trademark i.e. if it distinguishes the goods or services of a given business from the goods or services of another business, TPTO will decide to publish the application in the Official Trademark Bulletin.
A trademark application shall not look like a trademark already registered or for which a registration application is pending. Additionally, it shall not state type, choice, nature, quality, quantity, purpose, value, and geographical source. Moreover, a sign shall not be used by everybody in commercial activities shall not contain a religious value or symbol, and is not contrary to the public order and general morality.
If a trademark application is refused by TPTO’s one of the trademark examiners after such review, the applicant is entitled to appeal the said refusal by filing an appeal petition to the Re-Evaluation and Examination Board (REEB) of TPTO within 2 months from the date on which the said refusal has been notified to the applicant. If the applicant does not use this right within 2 months, its application will be canceled and its right to appeal will be revoked.
If TPTO approves that a trademark application meets the criteria described above, it will be published in the Official Trademark Bulletin, so that it will be made available to the public for review.
In this case, a trademark application will be published for 3 months. During this period of 3 months, real persons, legal entities and professional associations will be entitled to file an opposition before TPTO to object to a trademark application on the grounds that they already own it, a trademark application is similar to their own trademark, or the trademark application breaches copyright, etc., provided that documents proving such allegation must be enclosed to such letter of objection.
Such opposition and the documents enclosed thereto will be sent to the applicant or its attorney in order to enable them to prepare an answer. The applicant or its attorney must present its answer to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office within 1 month after receiving the above-mentioned opposition.
Both the opposition and its evidence documents and the answer given to it will be reviewed by the Re-Evaluation and Examination Board (REEB) of TPTO so that REEB will decide either “application will proceed” or “application will partially proceed” or “application rejected“.
Turkish Trademark Renewals
Our Turkish trademark attorneys are ready to provide trademark renewal services in Turkey. In order to prevent the cancellation of a registered trademark, trademark owners are required to periodically file their trademark renewal documents with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office for 10 years following the date of registration, and every ten years thereafter.
Fulfilling trademark renewal and maintenance can be a particularly daunting task. Akkas & Associates Turkish Trademark Lawyers offers solutions designed to alleviate the repetitious and administrative burden associated with trademark renewal management.
Our trademark renewals solution is flexible and can be tailored to integrate with and improve your existing workflow. In coordination with the client’s legal counsel, where required, Akkas & Associates‘ dedicated team of trademark paralegals, can support all facets of the renewal and maintenance process including:
- Storage of trademark registration particulars
- Renewal Reminders
- Formality requirements and supportive documentation
- POA and Signature Management
- Document Legalization and Authentication
- Agent instructions and confirmation of renewals
- Consolidated Invoices
Trademark Search in Turkey
Our Turkish trademark attorneys are ready to provide trademark search services in Turkey. One of the most important steps in the trademark registration procedure is to conduct an extensive trademark search in order to identify potential conflicts with existing trademarks and as a confirmation that your trademark is almost available for registration.
That’s why it is recommended as the first step in determining whether your trademark is available for use. Alternatively, you may conduct it by officially requesting from the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
Here, you may search for registered trademarks as well as published trademark applications in Turkey. A good trademark search that identifies potential conflicts includes existing trademarks in the Turkish market, company name registers, and pending trademark applications & registrations before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
When analyzing a trademark search report, it is important to take into consideration a number of factors to determine whether your mark is infringing on or likely to be confused with another trademark; such as similarity, company names, company services, classification, and degree of confusion likely to be exercised by the purchasers.
It is important to understand that a trademark search cannot provide you with a definitive “answer” as to whether or not your proposed trademark is available for use and registration. It does, however, arm you with information regarding potential risks associated with the mark which affect your decision in the use and registration of your mark, which, in turn, leads you to invest money for alternatives to save time.
It is also important to note that a trademark used or registered earlier in Turkey may also pose an obstacle to registration. The adoption of a trademark confusingly similar to a trademark currently in use by others may give rise to a claim for infringement and litigation.
We also counsel our clients on the proper use and protection of trademarks and create individualized trademark use guidelines for clients to help them maximize the strength of their marks. Our trademark attorneys routinely speak at industry events and conduct in-house seminars to educate our clients on the various issues involved in creating and protecting a valuable brand.
Turkish Trademark Search Attorneys
In an economy largely driven by brand recognition, establishing and protecting company names and trademarks is critical. Today more than ever, a business’ unique identity, reputation, and brand provide a tangible return on investment and a critical competitive advantage. A well-thought-out and executed branding strategy can yield significant income based on the perception of one’s trademarks in the marketplace.
Collectively, Akkas & Associates offers our clients the full range of legal services encompassed by a branding strategy:
- Selection and clearance of trademarks
- Prosecution and maintenance of trademarks in Turkey and Europe
- Due diligence arising from various transactions involving trademarks
- Civil litigation includes infringement, dilution cases, and counterfeiting
- Turkish Patent and Trademark Office litigation, including opposition and cancellation
Reach us for Turkish Trademark Attorneys
Akkas & Associates is a solution-oriented law firm that empowers clients to meet the diverse and changing demands of today’s intellectual property law. Since 1992, our Turkish Trademark Attorneys have been helping clients with complex legal challenges and maximizing opportunities for success. Our law firm is now one of the leading IP law firms in Istanbul, Turkey. You may reach us for Turkish Trademark Attorneys through our Contact page.