In short, to register a design in Turkey you file an application with TÜRKPATENT (Turkish Patent and Trademark Office) through EPATS, with views showing the appearance of the product, the product name and the designer details, and you pay the application fee; the Office examines formalities and novelty, and a design that is not refused is registered and published in the Bulletin, where it remains open to opposition by third parties for three months from publication. Protection starts from the filing date and lasts up to a total of 25 years through five-year renewals.
Below, based on Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK), you will find the conditions for registration, the elements excluded from protection, the contents of the application file, the step-by-step process and the 2026 official fees with their tariff codes.
What Is a Design and What Does It Protect?
A design is the appearance of the whole or a part of a product, or of its ornamentation, resulting from features such as lines, contours, shape, colors, materials or surface texture (SMK Art. 55(1)). What is protected is not how the product works but how it looks.
The concept of a "product" is broad: any object made by hand or industrially, parts of complex products, packaging, sets of objects perceived together, graphic symbols and typographic typefaces are covered, while computer programs are expressly excluded (Art. 55(2)). A part of a complex product, such as a car's headlamp lens, is protected only if it remains visible during normal use and its visible features meet the requirements (Art. 56(2)).
We covered how a design differs from a trademark, patent and copyright in our comparison of the four industrial property rights; here we focus only on the design application.
Conditions for Registration: Novelty and Individual Character
A design is protected if it is new and has individual character (Art. 56(1)). The two requirements are different and are tested at different stages.
Novelty: An identical design must not have been made available to the public in any country before the filing date (or the priority date, if any). Designs that differ only in immaterial details are considered identical (Art. 56(4)). In other words, changing a shade of color or moving a screw does not make a known design new.
Individual character: The overall impression the design produces on the informed user must differ from the impression produced by designs previously made available to the public (Art. 56(5)). The informed user is a person familiar with that product group, more attentive than an ordinary consumer but not as technical as an expert. The designer's degree of freedom is also taken into account (Art. 56(6)): for a product where the options for shape are limited, even small differences may provide individual character.
There is an important distinction in practice: the Office may refuse an application on its own motion only for lack of novelty (Art. 64(6)(d)); lack of individual character is raised in a third-party opposition or in an invalidity action before the court. That is why obtaining a registration certificate does not mean the design can withstand every challenge.
For your own disclosures, the law grants a 12-month grace period (Art. 57(2)). The limits of this period and its counterparts abroad are explained separately in our article on the risks of sharing a product before registration.
What Is Excluded from Protection
Even if they meet the requirements, certain features of appearance do not benefit from design protection (Art. 58(4)):
- Features of appearance dictated by the product's technical function.
- The appearance of parts that must necessarily be reproduced in a specific form and dimensions so that the product can be mechanically fitted or connected to another product.
- Designs contrary to public order or accepted principles of morality.
- Designs involving the unauthorized and improper use of state emblems and of religious, historical and cultural signs that have become part of the public heritage.
The connection rule has an exception: in modular systems, designs that allow units to be connected to one another in various ways are protected if they meet the novelty and individual character requirements (Art. 58(5)). In addition, text on the views does not confer a monopoly over the concept it expresses (Art. 61(6)); to protect the name on the product, a trademark application is needed.
What Goes into the Application File?
Under SMK Art. 61(1), the application contains the applicant's identification details, a representation of the design suitable for publication, the name of the product to which the design is applied, the name of the designer or designers, how the right to apply for registration was obtained from the designer, any request for deferment of publication, and the attorney's details.
The views define the limits of protection
The application may also include the product name, the Locarno class and an optional description; however, the law expressly states that these do not affect the scope of protection (Art. 61(3)). Protection is limited to the appearance shown in the views. Every side of the product you want protected must therefore be clearly visible, presented on a plain background and at a consistent scale. You cannot later bring a detail not shown in the views within the protection; correction of spelling and obvious clerical errors is possible only if it does not change the design specimen (Art. 61(11)).
Locarno classification and multiple applications
Products are classified according to the international Locarno Classification (Art. 61(5)). Several designs falling within the same class can be combined in a single multiple application for an additional fee; for ornamentation, the same-class requirement does not apply (Art. 61(7)). Each design in a multiple application is assessed separately (Art. 61(8)), so the refusal of one does not bring down the others. For designs that do not meet the requirement or exceed the maximum number set in the regulation, the Office requests a divisional application, and the divided applications keep the original filing date (Art. 61(9)).
Ownership and priority
If the applicant is not the designer, it must explain how it acquired the right. For designs made by an employee in the course of their duties, the right belongs to the employer as a rule (Art. 73(1)); in freelance and agency relationships, the contract is decisive (Art. 73(4)). If you have previously filed for the same design in a country party to the Paris Convention, you can claim priority in Turkey within six months of that date (Art. 62(1)); priority documents are submitted within three months of filing (Art. 63(1)).
How to Register a Design Step by Step
Including preparation, the process runs as follows:
- Carry out a preliminary search. Check whether an identical or very similar design has been made available to the public in Turkey or abroad by searching design registers, e-commerce sites and industry catalogs.
- Determine the disclosure status. If you have already shown the product, establish the date of first disclosure; the application must be filed within 12 months of that date.
- Prepare the views. Show every appearance to be protected, preferably from the front, back, sides, top, bottom and in perspective; remove objects and shadows that are not part of the design.
- Settle the applicant and the designers. If an agency or freelance designer is involved, complete the written assignment of rights before filing.
- Structure the application. Decide whether to combine variants in a multiple application in the same Locarno class, whether to claim priority and whether to request deferment of publication; the deferment request is made together with the application.
- Log in to EPATS with e-Devlet and file. Pay the application fee and submit the payment details on time; otherwise the application is deemed not to have been filed (Art. 61(4)).
- Remedy deficiency notices on time. If the identification details and the representation of the design are complete, the filing date is the date the Office receives the application; if a deficiency in these two elements is remedied on time, the filing date becomes the date it is remedied (Art. 64(1)–(2)). Protection starts from the date on which the filing date becomes final (Art. 64(3)).
- Follow the decision and the Bulletin. An application that is not refused is registered, entered in the register and published in the Bulletin (Art. 65(1)). Monitor the three-month opposition period from publication.
Examination, Refusal and Opposition Periods
After examining the application for formalities, the Office refuses designs that do not fit the definition of a design or product, are contrary to public order, are filed by persons not entitled to apply, improperly use state emblems, or are found not to be new (Art. 64(6)). Where the refusal concerns only a part, partial refusal may be issued in certain cases (Art. 64(7)).
| Stage | Who files? | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Appeal against an Office decision | Applicant | 2 months from notification (Art. 67(1)) |
| Opposition to registration | Third parties | 3 months from publication (Art. 67(2)) |
| Priority documents | Applicant | 3 months from filing (Art. 63(1)) |
| Renewal | Design owner | 6 months before expiry; the following 6 months with an additional fee (Art. 69(4)) |
Third parties may argue that the design does not fit the definition, is not new or lacks individual character, is excluded from protection, was filed in bad faith, or uses an intellectual property right without authorization. If the opposition is accepted, the registration is invalidated (Art. 68(5)). The law states that this opposition is subject to a fee; confirm the current amount with the Office at the time of filing.
Deferment of Publication: Confidential Registration Before Launch
Together with the application, you can request that publication be deferred for 30 months from the filing or priority date (Art. 66(1)). In that case the design is registered and entered in the register, but the views and the file remain closed to inspection by third parties (Art. 66(2)).
When the deferment period ends, the publication fee must be paid, and for two-dimensional designs where a specimen of the product was submitted instead of views, views suitable for publication must also be filed; if this is not done, protection is deemed never to have arisen (Art. 66(4)). During deferment, the design is protected only against copying (Art. 59(6)). Deferment is useful for manufacturers who want to protect a product confidentially at the start of a season; we explained how to use it in a packaging launch in our guide to layered protection for packaging.
2026 TÜRKPATENT Design Fees
The main items listed under the heading "2026 Transaction Fees" on the TÜRKPATENT design fees page are as follows (checked as of September 30, 2026):
| Code | Item | TRY |
|---|---|---|
| 04.01.01 | Design registration application fee | 2,070 |
| 04.01.02 | Application fee for each additional design | Tiered (by position) |
| 04.01.03 | Publication fee (per 8x8 cm area) | 280 |
| 04.01.04 | Deferment of publication (per design) | 280 |
| 04.01.15 | Priority claim recording fee | 3,420 |
| 04.01.05 | Renewal (single design) | 6,340 |
| 04.01.06 | Renewal (each additional design) | 520 |
| 04.01.07 | Late renewal within the grace period (single design) | 11,120 |
| 04.01.08 | Late renewal within the grace period (each additional design) | 940 |
| 04.01.09 | Assignment recording fee | 5,520 |
Unlike the trademark tariff, the design tariff has no separate "registration fee" item; instead there is a publication fee calculated by the area of the views. The number of views and the number of designs in a multiple application therefore directly affect the total cost. The additional design fee is tiered according to the design's position in the application. Current amounts should be checked against the TÜRKPATENT tariff; official fees do not include the attorney's service fee.
Term of Protection, Renewal and Unregistered Designs
A registered design is protected for five years from the filing date and can be extended in five-year periods up to a total of 25 years (Art. 69(1)). The renewal request is made within the six months before expiry; if missed, it can be made with an additional fee within six months after expiry (Art. 69(4)). The registered owner can bring an infringement action after the design is published; if the infringer has been notified of the application, publication need not be awaited (Art. 81(2)).
For designs that have not been filed, the law grants only limited protection: a design first made available to the public in Turkey is protected for three years, and only against copying (Art. 69(2), Art. 59(2)). We discussed the limits of this unregistered design protection in detail in the disclosure guide; in short, it is no substitute for registration.
Fictional Example: Lunaria Aydınlatma's Pendant Lamp Series
Fictional example: Lunaria Aydınlatma is developing a pendant lamp series with four different shade forms and plans to introduce the products at a trade fair six months later. The company first has the four variants searched in domestic and international catalogs, then commissions a set of views with seven perspectives for each variant.
Because the four lamps are in the same product group, a single multiple application is filed; deferment of publication is requested so that competitors do not see the forms before the fair, and as the launch approaches the company will ask for publication to be brought forward. Since an outside studio drew the designs, a written assignment agreement is signed with the studio before filing. After registration, the company monitors the Bulletin and, once the three-month opposition period has ended, enters the renewal dates in its calendar.
Common Mistakes
- Submitting incomplete views: A side that is not shown is not protected; views cannot be added after filing.
- Relying on the product name or the class: The name and class do not define the scope; the views do.
- Mistaking a technical part for a design: A shape dictated by function is not protected; for a technical solution, consider a patent or utility model.
- Leaving the assignment of rights for later: Filing before the agency's or freelance designer's right has been assigned in writing creates an invalidity risk.
- Filing variants one by one and piecemeal: Not combining models in the same class in a multiple application increases cost; your own model, published first, can stand in the way of your later application.
- Missing the end of the deferment period: If the publication fee is not paid, protection is deemed never to have arisen.
To determine which part of an idea is the subject of a design and which of a trademark or patent, see our roadmap for protecting an idea; for the copyright side of illustrations and text on the product, see our article on the difference between trademarks and copyright.
Webx works with attorneys authorized before TÜRKPATENT to assess with you, before filing, the scope of the views and the structure of a multiple application and deferment of publication. You can review the scope of the process on our design registration service page; no application comes with an assured outcome.
Sources
- Legislation Information System — Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK) (Arts. 55–81: definition, requirements, application, examination, opposition, deferment of publication, term of protection)
- TÜRKPATENT — Design information page (filing via EPATS and e-Devlet, terms of protection)
- TÜRKPATENT — Design transaction fees (2026 tariff, 04.01 items)
- TÜRKPATENT — Design (Locarno) classification
- WIPO — Locarno Classification (international classification for industrial designs)
