If the renewal deadline for a trademark registered in Turkey has passed, the consequences depend on how much time has gone by. If you are still within the six-month grace period that runs from the date on which the term of protection expired, renewal is still possible at a higher fee and your protection continues without interruption. If the grace period has also passed, the trademark right ends: the only way to regain the trademark is a new registration application.
In brief:
- In the first six months after protection expires: late renewal with a surcharge is possible; in 2026 it costs TRY 15,420 for up to two classes.
- A trademark renewed within the grace period suffers no gap in protection; the renewal attaches retroactively.
- If the grace period also passes, the trademark is removed from the register; the right ceases to exist from the moment of expiry.
- The former owner of an expired trademark can oppose identical or similar applications for 2 years — but only if they continue to use the trademark and file the opposition themselves.
- A new application means examination from scratch; a registration that went through without any problem 10 years ago is no guarantee against refusal today.
Below we take each stage in turn, together with the critical dates between the stages and the options open to you in each scenario. How the normal renewal process works is explained in our guide Trademark Renewal in Turkey: What It Is and When to Renew.
First, Clarify Your Situation: Which Stage Are You At?
The first thing to do is not to panic but to establish the dates. A trademark's term of protection is 10 years from the filing date, not from the date on which the registration certificate was issued. Add 10 years to the filing date and compare the result with today's date:
| Situation | Legal consequence | Available action |
|---|---|---|
| The expiry date has not yet been reached | Protection continues | If you are in the final six months, renew at the normal fee |
| Less than six months have passed since expiry | Protection is in suspense but can be rescued | Renewal with an additional fee (late renewal with a surcharge) |
| More than six months have passed since expiry | The trademark right has ended | A new application + use of the two-year right of opposition |
Example: protection for a trademark filed on 10 February 2016 expired on 10 February 2026. Late renewal with a surcharge was possible until 10 August 2026; after that date the trademark has expired. The owner of the same trademark will retain the right to oppose similar applications until 10 February 2028 — provided that they are using the trademark.
Rather than calculating the date yourself, it is safer to look up the register entry using the file number; the register view clearly shows the trademark's status and its protection date.
The Grace Period: The Six Months After Protection Expires
Article 23 of the Industrial Property Code (Law No. 6769) provides that the renewal request should normally be made within the six months before the term of protection expires. If this window has been missed, the same article offers a safety net: the renewal request can be made within a six-month grace period running from the date on which the term of protection expired, provided that an additional fee is paid.
During this period the procedure is still an ordinary renewal request filed through EPATS, TÜRKPATENT's online filing system; there is no separate procedure. The only difference lies in the fee: under the 2026 fee schedule, while normal renewal costs TRY 8,730 for up to two classes, renewing a trademark whose term of protection has expired costs TRY 15,420 for up to two classes and TRY 1,310 for each third and subsequent class. We set out all of the fee items in detail in Trademark Renewal Fees in Turkey 2026; in every case, current amounts should be checked against the fee schedule published by TÜRKPATENT.
Does a gap in protection arise if you renew in the grace period?
No — and this is the most widely misunderstood point in the whole process. Renewal takes effect from the day following the date on which the previous term of protection ended. Even if you renew on the last day of the grace period, the new 10-year term attaches retroactively to the day on which the old term ended. As far as enforceability against third parties is concerned, no unprotected interval arises.
Even so, the grace period is damage control, not a plan. During these months the trademark appears in the register as "term of protection expired"; for anyone reviewing an assignment negotiation, a licence negotiation, an investment round or a loan file, that is an unnecessary question mark. On top of that, the difference in fees is the direct bill for forgetfulness.
If the Grace Period Has Also Passed: The Trademark Right Ends
If the grace period also passes without being used, the trademark right ends as of the date on which the term of protection expired. The trademark is removed from the register, and the exclusive right it conferred — the power to prevent others, on the strength of the registration, from using an identical or similar sign — disappears. After this stage no procedure that goes by the name of "renewal" can be carried out; there is no rescue route, no extraordinary application and no re-establishment of rights (restoration to the previous position).
The practical consequences of expiry are the mirror image of the benefits registration provides: customs records lapse, the complaint mechanisms on e-commerce platforms that rely on a trademark registration can no longer be used, and infringement actions lose their registration-based footing. Licence and franchise relationships whose contracts refer to the trademark also lose their legal basis.
Does an Expired Trademark Immediately Become Someone Else's?
No — the law does not leave an owner who missed renewal completely defenceless for two years. Under Article 6 of the Industrial Property Code, an application for a trademark that is identical or similar to a trademark whose term of protection expired through non-renewal, and that covers identical or similar goods or services, is refused upon the opposition of the former trademark owner if it was filed within two years of expiry. The condition is that the former owner has used the trademark during that two-year period.
What does the two-year window provide, and what does it not?
- It provides: if you are still actually using your trademark, the ability to stop opportunistic applications by filing an opposition — breathing room in which to secure your new application.
- It does not provide: automatic protection. TÜRKPATENT does not refuse these applications ex officio on your behalf; opposition is a relative ground and must be filed by you, within the deadline. If you are not monitoring the Bulletin, a third party's application can proceed to registration without anyone noticing.
- It does not provide: protection for a trademark you are not using. If, after expiry, the trademark has also been abandoned in practice, the condition for opposition is not met.
This is why a business whose trademark has expired but which is still trading needs to do two things at the same time: file a new application without losing any time, and keep up Bulletin monitoring without interruption for two years. If this window is missed and the trademark is registered in someone else's name, the options shift onto the much harder ground we describe in Someone Has Registered My Brand Name — opposition, an invalidation action and proof of bad faith.
How to Regain the Trademark: A New Application
For an expired trademark, the only way forward is to file a new registration application for the same sign. You need to proceed in the knowledge that this is not a continuation of the old file:
- The priority date is reset. The date of the new application is the start of the new protection; the 10 years of seniority built up under the old registration are not carried over into the register.
- Examination starts from scratch. The application goes through a similarity examination against the register as it stands today, and it is published and opened to opposition. If similar trademarks have been registered over the past 10 years, a sign that was once obtained without any problem may this time meet with refusal.
- Intervening applications are a risk. Third-party applications filed between your expiry date and your new application will stand in your way as obstacles if you did not use your two-year right of opposition.
- An up-to-date search before filing is essential. A new application should always be preceded by a current similarity search; the risks should be seen before any fees are paid.
Does the old registration give you an advantage in a new application?
The old entry in the register does not create any priority on its own; however, if you have continued to actually use the trademark, you are not entirely empty-handed. Uninterrupted use is the condition for the two-year right of opposition; in addition, a sign that is genuinely known and used in the market carries weight as evidence in later disputes, in assessments of prior use and of bad faith. These help only in defence, not as a guarantee — and none of them takes the place of a renewal made in time.
Three Real-World Scenarios
Scenario 1 — Noticed 2 months after expiry. You are within the grace period: the renewal is filed through EPATS at the surcharge fee, protection attaches retroactively and the file is closed. The only lasting damage is the difference in fees.
Scenario 2 — Noticed 9 months after expiry. The trademark has expired. If the trademark is still in active use, take two actions on the same day: file a new application backed by an up-to-date search, and start Bulletin monitoring to cover the two-year opposition window. Until the application is decided, the trademark is unprotected; during this period, keeping a regular archive of evidence of use (invoices, packaging, advertising) is your insurance against possible disputes.
Scenario 3 — Noticed 3 years after expiry, and the sign has been registered in someone else's name. The two-year opposition window has closed; the matter can no longer be pursued by opposition, but only through an invalidation action and proof of bad faith. This is a long and costly route with no guaranteed outcome — the assessment varies according to the particular facts of the case, and legal advice should be obtained on a file-by-file basis.
How to Make Sure You Never Miss It Again
- Calculate the protection expiry date from the filing date; do not rely on the date on the certificate.
- Tie the reminder not to a single person's phone but to a corporate calendar and to more than one person; TÜRKPATENT does not send reminders.
- Keep the trade name and address details in the register up to date — this is very often the reason why notifications and procedures go wrong.
- Have your portfolio tracked by a trademark attorney or a watch service; complete the procedure as soon as the renewal window opens.
We explain step by step how to set up a renewal calendar, and how the process normally works, in our trademark renewal guide.
Conclusion
Missing the renewal deadline is, within the first six months, an expensive but fully remediable mishap; after six months it turns into a crisis in which the trademark right has ended, but which can still be managed through a new application and the two-year right of opposition. What is decisive is speed: establishing today which stage you are at directly changes both your options and your costs.
If You Have Missed Your Renewal Deadline
Send us your file number via our contact page; we will report to you on the same day whether the grace period window is still open and, if the trademark has already expired, on the risks of a new application and the status of your two-year right of opposition. For the period after expiry, our trademark watch service screens the Bulletin every month on your behalf for opportunistic applications.