Türkiye’s trademark legal framework is governed by the Industrial Property Law No. 6769,
with full trademark examination, registration and administration undertaken by the Turkish
Patent and Trademark Office (TPTO). As a party to the Paris Convention, Madrid Protocol
and Nice Agreement, Türkiye adopts a strict first-to-file trademark regime, where
registration serves as the solid legal foundation for exclusive brand rights, infringement
litigation and customs interception of counterfeit goods. Many foreign brands encounter
typical obstacles including non-use revocation, similar mark opposition and insufficient
local enforcement evidence during overseas expansion. This case study analyzes a real
trademark revocation dispute and sorts out full-process compliance rules, delivering
actionable guidance for global brands entering Türkiye and the wider Middle Eastern market.
A European home appliance brand filed a multi-class trademark application covering Classes
7, 11 and 35 with TPTO in 2019 and obtained the official registration certificate
smoothly. The enterprise only completed brand registration without launching
localized sales, offline retail layout or authorized distribution channels within Türkiye,
relying solely on cross-border online export shipments to customers scattered across the
country. In 2024, a local Turkish competitor filed a revocation petition with TPTO on the
ground of five consecutive years of genuine non-use, requesting complete cancellation of the
registered mark.
The trademark holder submitted cross-border logistics bills, overseas e-commerce order
records and foreign social media promotion materials as use evidence to defend the
revocation action. However, TPTO judicial review departments explicitly rule that only
commercial use taking place within Turkish territory counts as valid use for trademark
maintenance; pure offshore cross-border delivery without local market deployment cannot
resist non-use cancellation. TPTO rendered a final decision to revoke the entire trademark
registration in late 2024. Having lost exclusive rights, the European brand faced brand
squatting and identical product imitation by local rivals, suffering irreversible losses in the
Turkish market.
First, Türkiye enforces rigid five-year non-use cancellation rules. Starting from the
registration publication date, if a mark fails to achieve genuine commercial use in the
designated goods and services for five consecutive years, any third party can initiate
revocation procedures, and intent-to-use cannot serve as a defense ground.
Second, territoriality applies to trademark use evidence. Local invoices, distributor
contracts, physical store display photos, domestic advertising and local platform sales
records are recognized valid proof. Pure export transactions shipped directly from third
countries to Turkish individual buyers are excluded from statutory use scope.
Third, the opposition period lasts two months after trademark publication in the Official
Industrial Property Bulletin. Applicants must monitor bulletin updates timely to raise
objections against confusingly similar newly filed marks within the statutory time limit.
Fourth, registered trademarks can be recorded with Turkish customs. Once counterfeit
goods bearing identical or confusingly similar marks are imported or exported, customs
authorities will seize the goods actively, which forms an important front-line enforcement
barrier for brand owners.
Türkiye’s trademark system features clear statutory provisions and strict enforcement
standards, with territorial use requirements and non-use revocation being the highest-
frequency compliance pitfalls for foreign trademark owners. The above revocation case
fully demonstrates that trademark registration alone cannot guarantee long-term stable
protection. For global brands expanding into Türkiye, complying with TPTO
examination specifications, fulfilling continuous local commercial use obligations and
activating customs protection mechanisms are essential measures to lock in exclusive
brand rights and fend off squatting and counterfeiting risks.
Hyperlink List：
● IPcrossark:
IPcrossark—Reliable IP Registration Platform | Trademark, Patent & Copyright Help
● Official Website of Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TPTO)：
● TPTO Online Trademark Database Search Portal:
