What is a Patent Objection and How is it Done?

Patent objection is a situation that can be filed for patent applications that do not fully meet the patent requirements or violate the ongoing rights of others. Accordingly, patent objection appears as a process that must be carried out within 6 months after an official institution's decision to grant a patent. If an objection petition is not submitted within this period, it is not possible for the official institution to take the action in question.

A patent, in addition to being an official document, imposes restrictions on activities related to the product in question, such as marketing, sales, replication without the consent of the inventor. In other words, a patent can be considered a document exclusive to the inventor. Within 21 years from the date of the patent application, it offers various privileges related to the use, production, and sale of the invention. Additionally, it is crucial from a competitive standpoint. With a patent, no one else can use the invention except the patent holder. Furthermore, having a patent allows the inventor to establish a unique presence in the market.

Patents are highly valuable documents due to their potential to offer licensing and transfer agreements for any invention. Moreover, a patent is a positive development for a business, indicating a high level of expertise and technological capacity. Consequently, obtaining a patent is essential to ensure that the efforts of inventors do not go to waste. However, in some cases, legal disputes related to patents may arise, leading to the necessity of filing a patent opposition.

How to File a Patent Opposition?

The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office is responsible for publishing patent applications in the Patent Bulletin every month. This creates an opportunity for third parties to evaluate these applications and file oppositions if necessary. Regularly monitoring the bulletin is essential to protect patent rights. This allows for the prompt identification of malicious applications and facilitates the necessary opposition procedures. In this case, it is crucial to demonstrate the similarity to an already registered patent as a reason for preventing registration. Particularly, opposing patents with the potential for confusion is of great importance. The official Patent Bulletin plays a significant role in detecting infringements in advance and preventing their registration through opposition.

For any invention to obtain a patent registration, it must possess certain characteristics, including being applicable and unique. However, a patent opposition can be filed for all inventions, whether they meet these criteria or not. Those considering how to file a patent opposition should first prepare an opposition letter. This opposition letter, along with supporting evidence and reasons for the opposition, should be submitted to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. An opposition fee is paid to the authority. After reviewing the opposition, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office must notify the patent applicant of the opposition. Additionally, the applicant is granted the opportunity to express their views on the opposition.

What are the Reasons for Patent Opposition?

The reasons for patent opposition can be listed as follows:

• Firstly, if the patent application does not meet the requirements of novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability as it should, it may be subject to opposition.
• If there is an insufficient level of disclosure regarding the patent, the right to oppose is always available.
• If the patent subject matter has changed significantly from its original state or if the scope has been exceeded, opposition can be raised.
• If the patent subject matter and its implementation resemble an already registered patent, opposition can be filed to avoid any loss of rights.

hat are the Stages of Patent Opposition?

The stages of patent opposition can be outlined as follows:

• Firstly, an opposition letter must be prepared. The evidence and reasons supporting the opposition must be presented accurately and comprehensively to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
• The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office examines this opposition letter regarding the trademark application. Afterward, it notifies the applicant about the opposition. The applicant is required to provide their comments on the opposition within a maximum of 1 month after receiving the notification.
• The opposition made by experts at the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office is evaluated impartially, taking into account the opposition letter from the opposing party and the applicant's views on the matter. A decision of rejection, partial continuation, or continuation is then made.
• In the final stage, following the notification of the decision, both parties have the right to appeal to the Turkish Patent's Review and Evaluation Board. However, the appeal must be made within 2 months after the notification of the decision.

Individuals wishing to prevent the registration of a trademark application must submit their opposition letter to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (Türk Patent) within 2 months from the date of publication of this trademark application in the Official Gazette. In this regard, the extension of the opposition period is not possible. In the opposition letter, the opposers may rely on one or more of the absolute or relative grounds for refusal to prove that the relevant trademark application should not be registered. The absolute and relative grounds for refusal are regulated in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the Industrial Property Law (Law No. 6769).

Absolute grounds for refusal are typically directly related to public interest. Even if the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office should reject applications that constitute absolute grounds for refusal, third parties have the right to assert the existence of absolute grounds for refusal during the opposition process if the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office fails to do so.

In order to prove that the objecting party is justified, documents that serve as evidence for the trademark registration application in question to have a prior date to the application date can be listed as follows:

• Copies of invoices issued by the company.
• Purchase invoices of the company.
• Sponsorship agreements.
• Exhibition participation visuals and documents.
• Visuals of stores or branches.
• Documents obtained from official institutions.
• Any kind of news images and advertisements published in the print media.
• Use on social media platforms.

In summary, for a brand to be established in the mind of the end user, evidence of all promotional activities is required. It is not necessary to present all the documents mentioned above for each objection. Depending on the content and characteristics of the objected trademark registration application, some of them may be sufficient.

Experts from the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office should re-examine the trademark registration application in light of the evidence presented by the objecting party's trademark attorney. If the expert is convinced based on the evidence and statements in the objection letter that the trademarks are similar, they will issue a rejection decision for the trademark registration application. If they believe they are not similar, they will reject the objection and communicate in writing to the attorney that the objection has not been accepted. In the case of a rejection, the owner of the earlier trademark registration has the right to object for a second and final time.

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