According to Article 6 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769, which came into effect on January 10, 2017, relative grounds for refusal in trademark registration have been clearly defined. These provisions are aimed at protecting the rights acquired by individuals before the trademark and services' registration application. Unlike absolute grounds for refusal in trademark registration, the presence of relative grounds does not concern any public interest. Therefore, even if these reasons are not directly taken into account by the TURKISH PATENT, an examination is initiated upon objection.
According to Article 18 of the Industrial Property Law, "relevant parties" are clearly identified in the bulletin, and any party who believes that a trademark application contradicts absolute or relative grounds for refusal has the right to object to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office within two months from the publication of the trademark, providing reasons for their objection. Registered trademark owners who may be potentially harmed by the concept of such relevant parties, trademark application owners, and individuals or entities using the trademark or similar ones without registration, whose legitimate interests may be affected, must reach an agreement with them.
The main reasons for the rejection of trademark registration applications can be listed as follows:
According to Article 6/1 of the Industrial Property Law, "an objection may be filed if there is a likelihood of confusion, including the possibility of the public associating the trademark subject to the registration application with a previously registered or previously applied for trademark, due to the similarity or identity of the trademark with other trademarks." Therefore, in case of objection, three elements must be thoroughly examined by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office:
When assessing similarity between goods and services, all relationships and characteristics between these should be taken into consideration. This includes factors such as their appeal to a similar consumer base, the existence of a raw material - product relationship, addressing similar needs, cooperation between distribution channels, having the same target audience, and being presented for sale in the same sections. When evaluating whether one trademark, for which a trademark registration application has been filed, is similar to another trademark, a comprehensive assessment must be made, considering auditory, visual, and conceptual aspects. Consequently, the generic elements contained within trademarks should be excluded from the evaluation. Trademark registration is an important document that carries protective qualities for the holder of the rights to the goods and products. If there is visual similarity between trademarks, this similarity is regarded as visual resemblance.
Article 6/3 of the Industrial Property Law (IPL) states, "If an unregistered trademark or a sign that is different in type or variety in the field of trade has been used, either from the date of the application or before the priority date, and if this sign is used to obtain rights, the trademark application shall be rejected upon the objection of the right holder." This regulation has been introduced to provide the genuine right holder with the opportunity to prevent the registration of a trademark that has been used without being registered, based on historical use. In this case, priority rights are granted to the genuine right holder due to the trademark being registered.
Article 6/3 of the IPL states, "If a commercial representative or agent applies for the registration of a trademark in their own name, without the permission of the trademark owner and without a justifiable reason, for a trademark that is identical or indistinguishably similar, the application shall be rejected upon the objection of the trademark owner." According to this provision, unless there are justifiable reasons, such as the trademark owner relinquishing the Turkish market or failing to renew the trademark registration after it has expired, trademark applications made by a commercial representative or agent will be completely rejected.
According to Article 6/4 of the Industrial Property Law (IPL), trademark applications that are identical or similar to well-known trademarks are directly rejected in the same or similar goods and services category, in accordance with Article 6 of the Paris Convention. Consequently, regardless of whether a well-known trademark is registered in Turkey for any class, an application for the same or similar goods and services is rejected.
Article 6/6 of the IPL states that 'If the trademark application includes another person's name, photograph, trade name, copyright, or any intellectual property right, the application is directly rejected based on the objection of the rights holder.' Accordingly, the unregistrable names refer to names and surnames that are associated with another name or are recognized by the public in some way.
According to Article 6/9 of the Industrial Property Law, "trademark applications made in bad faith are rejected as a result of objections." To provide examples of this:
Although it is not very common, according to Article 6/7 of the Industrial Property Law (IPL), 'An application for a trademark that is the same as or similar to a collective mark or certification mark, and covers the same or similar goods and services as the previously expired protection due to non-renewal of the collective mark or certification mark, made within 3 years from the expiry of the protection period, shall be rejected as a result of the objection made by the previous right holder.' According to Article 6/8 of the IPL, 'Trademark applications covering the same or similar services as the registered trademark, made within 2 years after the expiration of the protection period due to non-renewal, shall be rejected if the previous trademark owner objects, provided that the trademark has been used within this two-year period.'
Therefore, objections related to relative grounds for refusal in trademark registration are thoroughly examined by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark applications that do not show any difference in terms of character, kind, quality, quantity, purpose, value, geographical origin, or source are automatically rejected as they prove that the trademark belongs to someone else. Individuals who obtain trademark registration that confers inherent value to goods or services must provide evidence that they are the ones who manufacture the goods or provide the services and that they own them.
It is essential to file a trademark registration application to prove that the goods and services used in commerce belong to you and to protect your idea and invention for a certain period. Alkan Patent, with its qualified service approach, handles trademark registration applications and many other procedures on your behalf, providing rational solutions to all your issues related to trademarks, designs, and patents. To experience Alkan Patent's extensive years of working experience and turn the quality difference to your advantage, you can contact us immediately using the contact numbers available on our website. When it comes to patents, Alkan Patent is the sole address for reliable services, and in this regard, we continue to offer services at top-quality standards whenever you need them.
