# Annual IP Audit for Companies: Trademarks, Patents and Designs

> How to run an annual IP audit: the inventory table, trademark, design and patent deadlines, 2026 TÜRKPATENT fee items and a quarter-by-quarter audit calendar.

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An annual IP audit is a once-a-year review of a company's trademark, patent and design rights under the same headings. Its output is a current inventory table, a calendar of deadlines for the next 12–24 months and an action list. The audit covers critical dates, consistency of ownership and register records, protection needs of new products, employee inventions, infringement records, domain name and account permissions, and the budget.

This guide covers the routine of the annual audit, not portfolio strategy. For decisions on which trademarks to keep, streamlining and brand architecture, see our article on [trademark portfolio management](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-portfolio-management).

## The Output of the Annual Audit: The Inventory Table

At the center of the audit is an inventory table with one row per right. The table should show all types of rights together; if trademarks, patents and designs are kept in separate files, their dates move forward unaware of each other.

Each row should contain at least the following:

- **Type of right:** Trademark, patent, utility model, design; national or international.
- **Number and dates:** Filing, registration and, where applicable, priority date.
- **Owner:** The natural or legal person recorded in the register, with its name and address.
- **Country and office:** TÜRKPATENT (Turkish Patent and Trademark Office) or the relevant foreign office.
- **Scope:** Classes and list of goods and services, number of designs or claims.
- **Deadline:** The next renewal or annual fee due date.
- **Owner of the task:** The person responsible for follow-up and their backup, plus the attorney if there is one.

The table's value lies in being up to date. It needs to be compared line by line with the register records once a year, and filings, assignments and changes made during the year need to be added.

## Critical Dates by Type of Right

Each type of right has a different term and grace period, so a single notion of "renewal date" is not enough. Under the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK), the main dates are as follows:

| Right | Protection and calendar | Grace period | Legal basis |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Trademark | 10 years from filing; renewal in the 6 months before expiry | 6 months from expiry, with an additional fee | SMK Art. 23 |
| Trademark use | Genuine use within 5 years of registration | None; risk of revocation | SMK Art. 9 |
| Design | 5 years from filing; up to 25 years in total through five-year renewals | 6 months from expiry, with an additional fee | SMK Art. 69 |
| Patent / utility model | 20 / 10 years; annual fee due each year on the month and day of filing | 6 months from the due date, with an additional fee | SMK Art. 101, Art. 145 |
| Priority | 6 months for trademarks and designs, 12 months for patents | None | SMK Art. 12, 62, 93 |

For patents, annual fees start on the date the second year from filing ends and recur every year. If the grace period also passes, the right lapses as of the fee's due date; if the compensation fee is paid within two months of the lapse notification, the patent is reinstated, but the rights of third parties acquired in the meantime are preserved. A trademark can also be renewed for only part of the goods and services covered by the registration (SMK Art. 23(3)). The annual audit is a good opportunity to ask, for trademarks coming up for renewal, which classes and goods are actually in use; not renewing unused items both lowers the fee and reduces the later burden of proving use. The decision should be made together with portfolio strategy.

We explained in detail how the trademark grace period works in our article on [trademarks whose renewal deadline has passed](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/missed-trademark-renewal-deadline).

## Budget: 2026 Official Fee Items

Another output of the annual audit is the official fee budget for the coming year. The main items shown on TÜRKPATENT's fee pages on September 30, 2026:

- **Trademark renewal (up to 2 classes), 02.01.23:** TRY 8,730; for each third and further class, 02.01.32: TRY 750.
- **Renewal of a trademark whose term has expired (up to 2 classes), 02.01.24:** TRY 15,420; for each additional class, 02.01.33: TRY 1,310.
- **Design renewal (single design), 04.01.05:** TRY 6,340; each additional design, 04.01.06: TRY 520. Renewal with the six-month extension, 04.01.07: TRY 11,120.
- **Patent annual fees:** Paid through "register fee" items that increase by year; for example, year 3, 01.01.23: TRY 3,800, and year 20, 01.01.40: TRY 26,650. An annual fee not paid on its due date (01.01.21) is calculated by adding 25 percent of the non-duty portion of the annual fee to the annual fee; the compensation fee (01.01.59) is 1.5 times the fee that should have been paid.

The amounts are updated every year; current amounts should be checked in the TÜRKPATENT tariff, and attorney service fees are not included in these items. Grace-period items should also appear as separate lines in the budget; if these items are actually incurred, it is a sign that the calendar has slipped.

## Use and the Use Archive

If a trademark is not put to genuine use within five years of its registration date, or if its use is suspended for an uninterrupted period of five years, it may face a revocation request (SMK Art. 9). Use with the trademark owner's consent also counts as use by the owner.

In the annual audit, you ask for each trademark and each important group of goods and services whether that year's samples of use have gone into the archive: dated invoices, packaging and catalog samples, advertising records. How to build this archive and which documents count as strong evidence is explained in detail in our guide to the [trademark proof-of-use evidence file](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-proof-of-use-evidence).

## Ownership and Register Consistency

The heading that causes the most problems in the audit is a mismatch between the information in the register and the company's actual situation. If the company's name or address changed during the year, if there was a merger or demerger, if a right was acquired or a license was granted, you check whether these were recorded in the register.

Under SMK Art. 148(4), legal transactions concerning industrial property rights must be in writing, and assignment agreements must be notarized. Under Art. 148(5), rights arising from transactions not recorded in the register cannot be asserted against third parties acting in good faith. The end dates of license agreements, their renewal terms and whether licensees are meeting their quality obligations are also reviewed under this heading. Trademarks obtained in a founding partner's name and never assigned to the company also come to light here. Gaps like these turn into serious question marks in an acquisition or investment process; the related checks are explained in our article on [IP due diligence](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/ip-due-diligence-before-acquiring-a-company).

## New Products, Logos and Inventions

Every new product name, logo, slogan, packaging and technical development launched during the year is assessed one by one for its protection needs. Asking the marketing department for an annual list is the most practical way to uncover names that have remained unregistered.

For designs, timing is critical: disclosure to the public by the designer, or with the designer's consent, does not affect novelty if it falls within the 12 months before the filing or priority date (SMK Art. 57(2)). For products beyond this period, the chance of registration may be lost; unregistered design protection lasts only three years from first disclosure to the public.

An annual check is also useful for employee inventions. Under SMK Art. 114, an employee must notify the employer of a service invention in writing and without delay; if the employer does not claim full or partial rights in writing within four months of receiving the notification, the invention becomes a free invention (Art. 115). A record should be kept of the year's disclosures and of these four-month periods.

Plans for sales abroad are also raised under this heading. If you file abroad within the priority period after the first filing in Turkey, six months for trademarks and designs and twelve months for patents, you can benefit from the date of the first filing; if this window is missed, intervening applications in the target country may gain priority. So the priority deadlines of applications filed in the last year are also entered in the inventory as a separate row.

## Monitoring, Infringement Records and Digital Assets

Watch reports received during the year, oppositions filed and infringement notices are gathered in a single record. In the annual audit, this record answers three questions: which matters are open, which were closed, and which applications were monitored but deliberately not opposed? Settlement or coexistence agreements signed with competitors are also added to this record, and you check whether terms such as limits on use and notification obligations were breached during the year. How watching itself works is explained in our article on [bulletin monitoring](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-watch-and-bulletin-monitoring).

Domain names and social media accounts also go into the inventory. You check the expiry dates of domain names, which corporate email address the registrar account is linked to, and who holds administrator rights on the accounts; access for departed employees and agencies is removed.

## An Internal Rule Against Fake Payment Requests

During registration and renewal periods, companies may receive official-looking payment requests. The annual audit is the right time to set a written internal rule against them: no IP payment is made until the file number has been verified against the register and the inventory, and the known attorney or an official channel has confirmed it. How to recognize such requests is explained in our guide to [fake trademark registration payment requests](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/fake-trademark-invoices-and-payment-requests).

## A Quarter-by-Quarter Annual Calendar

Spreading the audit across the year, instead of squeezing it into a single day, balances the workload:

| Quarter | Focus | Output |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Q1 | Comparing the inventory with the register; annual budget | Current table, fee budget |
| Q2 | Review of new products, logos, packaging and inventions | Filing list |
| Q3 | Use archive, ownership and license records | Archive and register corrections |
| Q4 | Infringement record, digital assets, deadlines for the next 24 months | Action plan, renewal calendar |

The same calendar is used for rights abroad. International trademark registrations obtained through the Madrid system can be tracked by status and expiry date in WIPO Madrid Monitor; for designs obtained through the Hague system, the WIPO Hague Express database is used. Registrations obtained directly from national offices are checked in that office's records.

## Running the Audit Step by Step

1. Pull the current records from the register and from international databases.
2. Compare them with the inventory table; note the discrepancies.
3. Put the deadlines for the next 24 months on a calendar and assign them to more than one person.
4. Collect input on new products, inventions and infringements from the departments.
5. Prepare the budget with fee item codes and submit it for approval.
6. Close out the action list by assigning an owner and a date to each item.

## Reporting the Results to Management

An annual audit should end with a decision, not a spreadsheet. A short report to management needs only three sections: the coming year's deadlines and budget, the risks identified (ownership gaps, unused trademarks, open infringement matters) and the decisions awaiting approval (new filings, rights not to be renewed, expansion abroad). The owner and date of each approved decision are written into the report; the next audit begins by asking whether that list has been closed.

## A Fictional Example: Mersa Gıda

A fictional example: Mersa Gıda, a food company with three trademarks, two design registrations and one patent, runs its first annual audit. Comparing the inventory shows that one trademark is still registered in the name of a former partner, that the fifth year of one of the packaging designs is about to end, and that the patent's annual fee due date was entered incorrectly in the table. The action list includes having the assignment done before a notary and recorded in the register, renewing the design at the start of its renewal period, and correcting the patent due date based on the filing date.

In the second year's audit, Mersa starts by opening the previous year's action list. The assignment has been recorded and the design renewed; however, filings for two new product names launched during the year were forgotten. The annual list from the marketing department reveals this gap, and the applications are filed.

## Common Mistakes

- **Tying deadlines to one person's calendar.** When that person leaves, the follow-up goes with them.
- **Going by the certificate date.** For trademarks, designs and patents, protection terms are calculated from the filing date; the five-year use period for trademarks, however, starts from the registration date.
- **Treating the grace period as a plan.** A grace period means a higher fee and will not forgive the next mistake.
- **Looking only at trademarks.** Design renewals and patent annual fees run on different calendars; these are the dates most often missed.
- **Not recording the decision on rights you drop.** If a right deliberately not renewed cannot be told apart from a forgotten one in the records, the same debate starts again the following year.
- **Putting off register changes.** An unrecorded assignment or license has no effect against third parties acting in good faith.

To set up your renewal calendar and renew trademarks nearing expiry on time, Webx's [trademark renewal service](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-yenileme), and for year-round screening of new applications on the register, [trademark watch](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-izleme) support, complete your annual audit.

## Sources

- [Legislation Information System — Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK)](https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=6769&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5) (Art. 9, 12, 23, 57, 62, 69, 93, 101, 114, 115, 145, 148)
- [TÜRKPATENT — Trademark Fees](https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/marka-islem-ucretleri) (02.01.23, 02.01.24, 02.01.32, 02.01.33; checked 09/30/2026)
- [TÜRKPATENT — Design Fees](https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/tasarim-islem-ucretleri) (04.01.05–04.01.08)
- [TÜRKPATENT — Patent Fees](https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/patent-islem-ucretleri) (01.01.21, 01.01.23–01.01.40, 01.01.59)
- [WIPO — Madrid Monitor](https://www3.wipo.int/madrid/monitor/en/) (status and expiry dates of international trademark registrations)
- [WIPO — Hague Express](https://designdb.wipo.int/designdb/hague/en/) (international design registrations database)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Who should run the annual audit: legal, finance or marketing?

No single department is enough. The inventory and the deadlines are usually owned by the legal department or an outside attorney, but information on new products and packaging comes from marketing, invention disclosures from R&D, and payment and budget information from finance. A workable approach is to name one person in charge and ask the other departments for written input before the annual meeting. A backup should also be designated for periods when the person in charge is on leave.

### Should we renew a design or patent we do not use?

The decision depends on the right's current and future function: is it keeping competitors away, does it have licensing or sale value, is it part of a product that will be used soon? Patent annual fees that rise every year and design renewal fees that come every five years make this question concrete. For a right you decide to let go, the deliberate decision should also be recorded in writing; at the next audit, it should be possible to tell a right that was missed from one that was dropped on purpose.

### Is an annual audit useful in an acquisition or investment process?

Yes. A current inventory, ownership records and a list of deadlines prepare in advance most of the documents requested in an investor's or buyer's IP review. Fixing discrepancies between the records and reality ahead of time, for example a trademark registered in a founder's name or an assignment never recorded in the register, rather than during the transaction, reduces both the time needed and the negotiation risk.

### Should we keep the dates of foreign registrations in the same table?

Yes, but noting that each country has its own rules. International trademark registrations obtained through the Madrid system and design registrations obtained through the Hague system can be tracked in WIPO databases; registrations obtained directly from national offices are checked in that office's records. Because renewal and annual fee periods can vary by office, the table should also show the office each record relies on and the local attorney.

### What tool should we use for the inventory table?

For small portfolios, a shared spreadsheet with version history is enough; what matters is not the tool itself but having a single, current source and entering the deadlines separately as reminders in a calendar system. As the portfolio grows or foreign registrations increase, an attorney's docketing system or dedicated software may be preferred. Whatever tool you choose, access rights should be tied to roles, not individuals.

## Related Resources

- [Trademark Renewal](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-yenileme): Explains renewing the 10-year protection of a registered trademark, the renewal window, the late-fee grace period and partial renewal.
- [Trademark Watch](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-izleme): Covers monitoring similar applications published in the Official Trademark Bulletin and reporting them before the opposition period ends.
- [Trademark Portfolio Management: A Strategy for Multi-Brand Companies](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-portfolio-management): What is trademark portfolio management? Building a trademark inventory, gap analysis, renewal calendars, watch services, and multi-brand strategy.
- [How to Prepare an Evidence File for Trademark Proof of Use](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-proof-of-use-evidence): Trademark proof of use in Turkey: which evidence counts, which five years apply, how to organize the file. A step-by-step guide for opposition and revocation.
- [What Happens If You Miss the Trademark Renewal Deadline?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/missed-trademark-renewal-deadline): A missed trademark renewal has a six-month grace period; once that passes, the right ends. Late renewal fees, the two-year opposition right and refiling options.
- [How Do You Check Suspicious Calls and Payment Requests About Your Trademark Registration?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/fake-trademark-invoices-and-payment-requests): Is an invoice, email or call demanding payment for your trademark official? TÜRKPATENT, WIPO and EUIPO warnings, step-by-step checks and red flags to watch.
- [How Do You Review a Company's Trademark and IP Portfolio Before Acquiring It?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/ip-due-diligence-before-acquiring-a-company): IP due diligence in a company acquisition: share vs asset deals, registry checks, the chain of title, red flags and contractual protections for the buyer.
- [Why Is Trademark Watching (Bulletin Monitoring) Essential?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-watch-and-bulletin-monitoring): What is trademark watching and how does bulletin monitoring work? Catch similar applications early, meet the two-month opposition deadline, cut enforcement costs.