The short answer to who owns a trademark in Turkey is this: the trademark belongs not to the person who used it first, but to the person who files first with TÜRKPATENT (Turkish Patent and Trademark Office) and obtains registration. Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK), Article 7(1), says so expressly: "Trademark protection under this Law is obtained through registration." Prior use is not worthless, however; it is a defensive card that can stop or remove a later registration, but it does not provide protection on its own.
Below we look at the logic of the registration-based system, why the filing date matters down to the minute, which routes a prior user can take and within which deadlines, and how all of this compares with a use-based system such as that of the United States.
What Are Trademark Rights Based On in Turkey?
In Turkey, trademark rights are based on registration. The first-to-file principle means that when two identical or similar signs collide, priority is determined not by the date of first use but by the filing date or a valid priority date. The question of who used the mark first comes into play only through exceptional routes and only when someone takes on the burden of proof.
This principle has three practical consequences:
- The power to prohibit arises from registration. The powers listed in Article 7(2) and 7(3) of the SMK — to stop an identical or similar sign from being used on goods and packaging, in advertising, online as a domain name or keyword, and as a trade name — are granted to the owner of a registered trademark.
- Rights start running from publication of the registration. Under Article 7(4) of the SMK, rights arising from registration take effect against third parties as of the date the registration is published. A claim for damages can be brought over acts committed after the application is published in the Bulletin, but the court cannot rule before the registration has been published.
- An earlier right prevails over a later registration. Under Article 155 of the SMK, a trademark owner cannot rely on its own registration as a defense in an infringement action brought by a right holder with an earlier filing or priority date.
A trademark does not need to have been used before it can be registered; you can file for a name that has not yet reached the market. The obligation to use begins after registration and is governed by the five-year rule in Article 9 of the SMK. Whether registration is legally mandatory is a separate question, which we answer in our article on whether trademark registration is mandatory.
Why Does the Filing Date Matter Down to the Hour and Minute?
Because priority between two applications is determined by the hour and minute, even within the same day. Under Article 15(1) of the SMK, an application with no formal deficiencies becomes final as of the date, hour and minute it is received by the Office. If two applications for the same sign are filed on the same morning, the one received earlier by the minute takes precedence over the other.
The earlier application is protected even without an opposition: under Article 5(1)(ç) of the SMK, signs that are identical or indistinguishably similar to an earlier registered or applied-for trademark covering the same or same-type goods and services are refused by the Office of its own motion. Lower degrees of similarity are assessed only upon opposition (Article 6(1)).
An incomplete application can push back your place in line
Under Article 15(2) of the SMK, if the application form, the representation of the mark, the list of goods and services or proof of payment of the filing fee is missing, the filing date shifts to the date, hour and minute on which the deficiency is remedied. If someone else files a complete application for the same sign in the meantime, priority passes to them. Deficiencies concerning technical regulations, the priority fee or the Latin transliteration, on the other hand, do not affect the filing date.
The practical lesson is clear: in a race for the date, what counts is filing a complete application the first time. The representation of the mark, the list of goods and services and the fee payment should all be completed together.
Madrid filings count from the first minute of the day
Under Article 14(1) of the SMK, an international application designating Turkey under the Madrid Protocol is deemed to have been filed at the first hour and minute of its international filing date. This rule gives the international application priority over domestic applications bearing the same date. Where there are several international applications with the same date, the one with the lower international registration number is deemed filed first.
How Does the Right of Priority Affect the First-to-File Rule?
The right of priority is not an exception to the first-to-file rule but an extension of it: it lets you carry the date of your first foreign application over to Turkey for six months. Under Article 12(1) of the SMK, a person who files in Turkey for the same mark and the same goods and services within six months of a proper first application in a country party to the Paris Convention or the World Trade Organization benefits from the date of that first application.
Its effect is powerful. Under Article 12(6) of the SMK, applications filed by third parties after the priority date for an identical or indistinguishably similar mark covering the same or same-type goods and services are refused. Exhibition priority (Article 12(3)) likewise grants six months of priority from the date the mark was displayed at certain national or international exhibitions.
The key point to remember is that priority also rests on an application; it carries a filing date, not a date of use. For the claim procedure, the document deadline (Article 13: three months from filing) and common mistakes, see our guide to the right of priority.
Does the First User Lose All Rights?
No. The registration system does not ignore the prior user; it gives them defensive tools rather than automatic protection. A prior user can stop a later application or have a registration invalidated, but only by asserting and proving the right themselves. The Office does not look for the relative grounds in Article 6 of the SMK of its own motion; it examines them only upon opposition.
Opposition to publication (SMK Article 6(3))
Under Article 6(3) of the SMK, if a right has been acquired in an unregistered trademark or another sign used in the course of trade before the filing or priority date, the application is refused upon opposition by the owner of that sign. The opposition must be filed in writing, with reasons, within two months of the application's publication in the Official Trademark Bulletin, and the fee must be paid within the same period (Article 18).
Under the TÜRKPATENT 2026 schedule of trademark fees, the fee for an opposition to a published application (item 02.01.17) is TRY 1,150. Current amounts should be checked against the TÜRKPATENT fee schedule, which is updated every year, and the official fee does not include any attorney service fee. The steps are explained in our guide on filing a trademark opposition.
Invalidation action (SMK Article 25)
If the opposition period has been missed and the mark has been registered, the holder of the earlier right can ask the court to declare the registration invalid on the same grounds. Under Article 25(1) of the SMK, the court declares a trademark invalid if one of the situations listed in Article 5 or Article 6 exists. An invalidation decision is retroactive: under Article 27(1), the protection conferred on the mark is deemed never to have arisen.
The court route is considerably longer and more expensive than an opposition; expert examination and the length of proceedings must be factored in. We explain the difference between invalidation and revocation in detail in our article on trademark invalidation and revocation.
Bad faith and filings by commercial agents
If the later applicant learned of the mark from you and filed in order to appropriate it, two further grounds come into play. Applications filed in bad faith are refused upon opposition (Article 6(9)), and bad faith is also a ground for invalidation under Article 25. An unauthorized filing by a commercial agent or representative is refused under Article 6(2); if it has already been registered, you can ask the court under Article 10 to transfer the registration to you. The warning signs and the evidence are covered in our article on bad-faith trademark filings.
Acquiescence: How Do Five Years of Silence Erode Your Rights?
If the holder of an earlier right remains silent for five consecutive years despite knowing, or being in a position to know, that the later mark is being used, they can no longer rely on their right as a ground for invalidation unless the later registration was made in bad faith (SMK Article 25(6)). This rule is known as loss of rights through acquiescence.
For the first user, this means time works against you, not for you. The day you notice the later mark may effectively be the day the five-year clock starts. Two points matter. First, the period depends on knowledge; ignoring use that you ought to have known about will not protect you. Second, the rule does not shelter bad-faith registrations; invalidation of a registration obtained to appropriate a mark can still be sought after five years.
Practical advice: record the later use with dates and documents, then assess without delay whether an opposition, a warning letter or a lawsuit is the route available to you.
What Must a Prior User Prove?
A prior-use claim is only as strong as the evidence behind it. In the practice of the courts and the Office, the following elements are generally examined:
- That the use began before the filing or priority date of the opposing application,
- That the sign was genuinely used in the course of trade in a way that functions as a trademark, meaning it indicates the commercial origin of the goods or services,
- That the use was continuous and reached a certain commercial intensity; occasional use, merely preparatory use or very limited use is often not considered sufficient,
- That the two signs and fields of activity are close enough to show that the later use would cause confusion.
Useful evidence is dated and independent: invoices, contracts, printing invoices for packaging and catalogs, advertising records, domain name and web archive records. We explain step by step how to build this file in the course of daily business in our article on using an unregistered trademark.
Registration-Based vs. Use-Based Systems: What Is the Difference?
The fundamental difference lies in the event that gives rise to the right: in Turkey it is registration, while in use-based systems such as that of the United States it is mainly actual use in commerce. In this respect Turkey is aligned with registration-based systems such as the European Union trade mark and China. The table below summarizes the difference only in general terms; decisions about other countries require a separate look at that country's rules.
| Criterion | Registration-based system (Turkey) | Use-based system (United States, in broad terms) |
|---|---|---|
| Event that creates the right | Registration (SMK Article 7(1)) | Mainly actual use in commerce |
| Priority criterion | Filing or priority date, down to the hour and minute | Mainly the date of first use; filing can also have a priority effect under certain conditions |
| Filing without use | Possible; the use obligation starts after registration | Use or a bona fide intent to use is required; evidence of use is submitted for registration |
| Position of an unregistered user | Defensive tools: opposition, invalidation, unfair competition | Rights may arise in the area of use; their scope is generally limited to the geography of actual use |
| Function of registration | Source of the right | A tool that strengthens and extends an existing right |
| Practical priority | File before you start using the mark | Document the use and reinforce it with registration |
Details on the US filing process and evidence of use are in our US trademark registration guide.
What Risk Does a Business Take by Using a Mark Without Filing?
The biggest risk is losing your place in line for a name you have spent years building. Consider a plainly fictitious example: a business has run a single-location coffee shop under the name "KAHVEVA" for three years but has never filed for the mark. One day, someone else files for the same name in the class covering café services. These are the scenarios it faces:
- If it spots the Bulletin publication: It files an opposition under Article 6(3) within two months and puts its evidence of use on file. This is the fastest and cheapest route.
- If it misses the publication: The mark is registered. The new owner can send warning letters and file complaints on online platforms. KAHVEVA is left with an invalidation action, and the time and cost rise considerably.
- If it stays silent for five years: Unless the later registration was made in bad faith, the acquiescence rule may close the invalidation route as well.
- If it had filed first: It would hold the priority; later identical or very similar applications would be refused by the Office of its own motion, and less similar ones would be stopped through its oppositions.
As the scenarios show, prior use at best provides an expensive defense, while filing secures your place from the outset. If your name has already been registered by someone else, the roadmap is in our article someone registered my brand name. To plan the moment of filing around your business calendar, see our guide on when to register a trademark.
What you need to do to keep your place is simple: run the search and complete the application as soon as the name is settled. Working with trademark attorneys authorized before TÜRKPATENT, Webx handles the clearance search, class strategy and a complete filing in one place as part of our trademark registration service.
Summary: Who Owns a Trademark in Turkey?
The answer to who owns a trademark in Turkey lies in the logic of the registration system: your place in line is secured by filing, not by use. Key takeaways:
- Trademark protection is obtained through registration (SMK Article 7(1)); priority is set by the filing or priority date, down to the minute.
- An incomplete application moves your date to the moment the deficiency is remedied; the first filing should be complete.
- The right of priority carries the date of the first foreign application for six months; it does not carry a date of use.
- A prior user can assert its right through opposition (two months from publication) and invalidation, but the burden of proof is on the prior user.
- Staying silent for five years can extinguish the right to seek invalidation unless there is bad faith.
Would you like to secure your trademark's place in line today?
Send us the name you use, or are preparing to use, through our contact page; together we will establish whether there are conflicting entries in the register, which classes you should file in and, if relevant, how to document your prior use. If your name has already been filed or registered by someone else, our legal protection team will assess your opposition and invalidation options.
