# Can a Trademark Be Assigned? Assignment, Inheritance, Licensing and Pledges

> Can a trademark be assigned in Turkey? Yes: under SMK Art. 148 it can be assigned, inherited, licensed, pledged or attached. Routes, documents and 2026 fees.

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Can a trademark be assigned? The short answer is yes: **under Article 148 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK), both a registered trademark and a trademark application can be assigned independently of the business and pass by inheritance, and they can be licensed, pledged, provided as security or attached.** An assignment agreement becomes valid once it is notarized; when the transaction is recorded in the register of TÜRKPATENT (Turkish Patent and Trademark Office), it can also be asserted against third parties acting in good faith.

Below you will find a comparison table of the ways a trademark can change hands, showing for each whether ownership changes, the core document needed and the 2026 recordal fee, followed by the law's formal and pre-emption rules, the situations in which assignments and other dispositions are restricted, a checklist for choosing between assignment and license, and the checks to run before you take over a mark.

## In What Ways Can a Trademark Change Hands?

SMK Art. 148(1) provides that an industrial property right can be assigned, pass by inheritance, be licensed, be pledged, be provided as security and be attached; Art. 148(2) adds that these transactions can take place independently of the business, and Art. 148(8) applies the same rules to applications. In other words, a trademark does not have to go with the business it belongs to, and an application that has not yet been registered can also change hands.

Some of these routes transfer ownership, while others only create a right of use or a security interest:

| Transaction | What changes? | Core document | TÜRKPATENT recordal (2026) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Full assignment | The entire mark passes to the new owner | Notarized assignment agreement | 02.01.06, TRY 5,960 |
| Partial assignment | Only the selected goods and services pass to the new owner; a new file is opened for that part | Notarized agreement listing the goods, services and classes transferred | 02.01.06, TRY 5,960 |
| Transfer by inheritance | On the owner's death the mark passes to the heirs | Certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı) | 02.01.08, TRY 5,550 |
| Merger, demerger, in-kind capital contribution | The mark passes to a different legal entity | Turkish Trade Registry Gazette entry or document | 02.01.07, TRY 4,360 |
| License | Ownership does not change; only permission to use is granted | License agreement | 02.01.09, TRY 9,870 |
| Pledge | Ownership does not change; the mark secures a debt | Pledge agreement | 02.01.10, TRY 6,010 |

The amounts in the table come from the TÜRKPATENT 2026 trademark fee schedule; the schedule is updated every year, and notary costs and attorney service fees are not included. We calculate the total cost by scenario in our article on [trademark assignment fees in Turkey for 2026](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-assignment-fees-in-turkey-2026).

The concepts in the table differ as follows. An assignment means the permanent transfer of the right in a trademark, by agreement, to another individual or legal entity; with the assignment, the rights that arise from registration and belong exclusively to the owner (Art. 7(2)) pass to the acquirer. A license means permission to use the mark while ownership stays with the owner. A pledge means tying the mark to a debt as security. Attachment is part of this list too: under Article 126 of the Regulation, a trademark can be attached independently of the business, and the attachment is entered in the register and published in the Bulletin.

Two events, on the other hand, do not count as a change of hands. If the mark is registered to a company, selling the company's shares does not change the owner; the owner remains the same legal entity (see our guide to [trademark registration for limited companies](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-registration-for-limited-companies) for details). A change of trade name or company type is not an assignment either; it requires the register details to be updated (Regulation Art. 128), and the 2026 fee schedule has no separate item for it. We explain this distinction in our article on whether [a company name change affects a trademark](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/does-a-company-name-change-affect-a-trademark).

## What Form Does the Law Require for an Assignment?

Under SMK Art. 148(4), legal transactions must be in writing, and the validity of an assignment agreement depends on notarization. Recordal in the register, by contrast, is not a condition of validity but of enforceability against third parties.

### Why is notarization required?

For an assignment, notarization is a constitutive requirement: an agreement that is not notarized does not transfer ownership of the mark, even if the price has been paid. For other legal transactions, such as licenses and pledges, the law requires written form; it expressly requires notarization only for assignment agreements. If the agreement is in a foreign language, a Turkish translation certified by a sworn translator is also submitted for recordal (Regulation Art. 125(1)). Parties whose domicile is outside Turkey can only be represented before TÜRKPATENT by a trademark or patent attorney (SMK Art. 160(3)).

You will find the steps for drafting the agreement, notarization and the EPATS filing in our guide on [how to assign a trademark in Turkey](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/how-to-assign-a-trademark-in-turkey), and the timeline of each stage in our article on [how long a trademark assignment takes](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/how-long-does-a-trademark-assignment-take).

### What happens to a transaction that is not recorded?

Legal transactions are recorded in the register and published in the Bulletin at the request of either party, on payment of the fee and once the other conditions set by the Regulation are met; rights arising from unrecorded legal transactions cannot be asserted against third parties acting in good faith (Art. 148(5)). An unrecorded assignment is valid between the parties, but it does not protect the acquirer against good-faith parties who rely on the register. The one exception is collective and certification marks: assigning these marks, and licensing a collective mark, is valid only upon recordal in the register (Art. 148(7)).

## Can Part of a Trademark, or a Share in It, Be Assigned?

Yes. A trademark can be assigned for all or some of the goods and services for which it is registered (Art. 148(6)); where a mark has several owners, each co-owner can assign their own share, but the other co-owners have a statutory right of pre-emption (Art. 148(3)).

### Partial assignment

In a partial assignment, the goods and services transferred and their class numbers must be stated in the assignment agreement. A new file with a new registration number is opened in the acquirer's name for the transferred part, but the date protection began and the term of protection do not change (Regulation Art. 125(3)). The law ties partial assignment to goods and services rather than to classes, so the split does not have to follow whole classes.

### A co-owner selling a share and the right of pre-emption

If one co-owner sells all or part of their share to a third party, the buyer or the seller must notify the other co-owners of the sale. The right of pre-emption lapses three months after the sale is notified and, in any event, two years after the sale; if the parties cannot agree, the right is exercised by suing the buyer, and it cannot be used in forced sales by public auction (Art. 148(3)). We discuss how co-ownership works and what the co-owners' agreement should say in our article on whether [a trademark can be assigned to multiple owners](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/can-a-trademark-be-assigned-to-multiple-owners).

## How Does a Trademark Pass to the Heirs?

A trademark registered to an individual passes to the heirs on the owner's death; no assignment agreement is needed. To record the transfer, the heirs submit a request form, the certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı) or a notarized copy of it, and proof that the fee has been paid (Regulation Art. 129); under the 2026 fee schedule, recording a transfer by inheritance costs TRY 5,550 (02.01.08).

If there are several heirs, the mark belongs to several people. In that case, unless a trademark attorney has been appointed, all proceedings before the Office other than withdrawal and surrender are handled by the right holder the co-owners have appointed as common representative; if no one is appointed, the right holder named first on the form is deemed the common representative (SMK Art. 147(1)). Where the mark is registered to a company, it stays with the company and the heirs inherit the deceased partner's share. We cover joint ownership among heirs, wills and a checklist for heirs in detail in our article on whether [a trademark can be inherited](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/can-a-trademark-be-inherited).

## When Are Assignments and Other Dispositions Restricted?

As a rule a trademark can be freely transferred; the law, however, prohibits or adds conditions to assignments and other dispositions of a mark in five situations:

- **Geographical indications and traditional product names:** These rights cannot be licensed, assigned, inherited, attached or made subject to similar legal transactions, and they cannot be provided as security (Art. 148(1)).
- **Collective and certification marks:** An assignment is valid only upon recordal in the register (Art. 148(7)).
- **The licensee's rights:** Unless the agreement provides otherwise, a licensee cannot transfer its rights under the license to third parties or grant sublicenses (Art. 24(3)).
- **Consent of recorded right holders:** Without the consent of pledgees or licensees recorded in the register, the owner cannot surrender the trademark (Art. 28(4)).
- **Unauthorized disposal:** Anyone who, without authority, assigns, licenses or pledges someone else's trademark faces two to four years' imprisonment and a judicial fine (Art. 30(3)).

## Assignment or License?

If you want a permanent change of hands, assignment is the right tool; if you want to keep ownership and build an income or growth model, a license is. Use these criteria to decide:

- **Ownership:** If you are cutting your ties with the mark completely, assign it; if you may want it back later or want to use it in other fields, license it.
- **Income:** A one-time price comes from an assignment; recurring income comes from license fees.
- **Control:** Under a license, the owner takes measures to safeguard quality (Art. 24(4)); after an assignment, no such control remains.
- **Use requirement:** Use by the licensee counts as use by the owner (Art. 9(3)), so licensing a class you do not use yourself also helps with the five-year use requirement (Art. 9(1)).
- **Reversibility:** When a license expires, the right to use ends; an assignment cannot be reversed without a new assignment agreement.

The clauses a license agreement should contain are covered in detail in our [trademark license agreement guide](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-licence-agreement-guide).

## What Should You Check Before Taking Over a Trademark?

The acquirer takes the mark together with every entry in the register, so the register extract must be reviewed before signing. Under the Regulation, an attachment or a pledge does not prevent assignment (Arts. 126 and 127), which means these entries remain on the register after the assignment. The minimum checks, in order, are:

1. **Owner:** Whether the owner in the register is the same as the assignor, and, if there has been a change of trade name or company type, whether it has been recorded.
2. **Status and scope:** Whether the mark is registered or still at the application stage, when protection expires, and whether the goods and services you are acquiring are actually covered.
3. **Use:** Whether the mark has been put to genuine use within five years of registration; an unused mark is open to a revocation request (Art. 9(1)).
4. **Disputes:** Any pending opposition, revocation, invalidation or infringement files.
5. **Recorded rights:** Licenses, pledges, attachments and injunctions entered in the register.

You will find a detailed 20-point list in our article on [what to check when buying a trademark](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/buying-a-trademark-due-diligence).

## Conclusion

- Can a trademark be assigned? Yes: under SMK Art. 148, a trademark and a trademark application can be assigned independently of the business, pass by inheritance, and be licensed, pledged, provided as security or attached.
- An assignment agreement must be in writing and notarized; notarization is a condition of validity.
- Unrecorded transactions cannot be asserted against third parties acting in good faith; for collective and certification marks, recordal is a condition of validity.
- A partial assignment opens a new file, but the term of protection does not change; when a co-owner sells a share, the other co-owners have a right of pre-emption.
- 2026 recordal fees: assignment TRY 5,960, structural change TRY 4,360, inheritance TRY 5,550, license TRY 9,870, pledge TRY 6,010; the fee schedule is updated every year.

### Shall we plan your trademark's change of hands safely?

Webx's [trademark assignment service](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-devri) covers the preliminary register review, identifying the documents needed for the type of transaction, drafting the agreement to meet the register's requirements, and following the assignment or inheritance recordal through TÜRKPATENT in our capacity as trademark attorney. Send us your trademark number and the transaction you are planning through our [contact page](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/iletisim), and we will work out together which route suits you.

## Sources

- [Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (Türkiye)](https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=6769&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5) (mevzuat.gov.tr) — Art. 148: legal transactions (assignment, inheritance, license, pledge, attachment); Art. 147: common representative
- [Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial Property Law (Official Gazette 24.04.2017, No. 30047)](https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2017/04/20170424-5.htm) (resmigazete.gov.tr) — Arts. 125–130: recordal of assignments, structural changes, attachments, pledges and inheritance
- [TÜRKPATENT — Trademark Fees (2026)](https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/marka-islem-ucretleri) (turkpatent.gov.tr) — Items 02.01.06–02.01.10

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can a mark that is only in use, with no application filed, be assigned?

The assignment and recordal rules in SMK Art. 148 apply to registered trademarks and trademark applications. A sign for which no application has ever been filed has no file in the TÜRKPATENT register, so no assignment can be recorded either. If you are taking over such a sign, the safest route is to have the application filed directly in the acquirer's name, or to file it in the transferor's name and assign it to the acquirer under a notarized agreement.

### Can the former owner keep using the name after the trademark is assigned?

After a full assignment, no, not without the new owner's consent. The assignment transfers to the acquirer the rights that arise from registration and belong exclusively to the owner (SMK Art. 7(2)); any unauthorized use by the former owner is now use of someone else's mark. In a partial assignment, the assignor keeps using the mark for the goods and services it retains, and those boundaries should be spelled out in the agreement.

### What happens to a license if the licensed trademark is assigned?

A license recorded in the register can be enforced even against a good-faith acquirer of the mark. For an unrecorded license, SMK Art. 148(5) provides that rights arising from it cannot be asserted against third parties acting in good faith, so the licensee may be left unprotected against the new owner. Licensees should therefore record without delay, and acquirers should review the license entries in the register before the assignment.

### Can an attached (seized) trademark be assigned?

Yes. Under the Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial Property Law, an attachment does not prevent the assignment of a trademark. Because the attachment is entered in the register and published in the Bulletin, however, it stays visible in the register and is a serious risk for the acquirer. Before taking over an attached mark, clarify the basis of the attachment and whether it will be lifted, and put the assignor's undertakings on this point into the agreement.

### Can a trademark be assigned to a person or company abroad?

Yes. A foreign acquirer does not prevent an assignment; the formal rules are the same and the assignment agreement must be notarized. If the agreement is in a foreign language, a Turkish translation certified by a sworn translator is submitted for recordal. Because persons whose domicile is outside Turkey can only be represented before TÜRKPATENT by a trademark or patent attorney, the proceedings after the assignment are handled through an attorney.

### Does selling a company's shares mean assigning its trademark?

No. If the trademark is registered to the company, the owner is the company itself; when its shares change hands, the legal entity that owns the mark does not change, and no assignment needs to be recorded at TÜRKPATENT. In practice the mark passes into the new shareholders' control together with the company. If the mark is registered in a founder's personal name, however, a share sale does not cover it, and the mark must be assigned separately to the company or the buyer.

### Does the term of protection restart when a trademark is assigned?

No. An assignment neither extends nor resets the term of protection; in a full assignment the file continues in the new owner's name with the same number and the same expiry date. In a partial assignment a new file with a new number is opened for the transferred part, but under the Regulation the date protection began and the term of protection do not change. The acquirer must track the renewal calendar.

## Related Resources

- [Trademark Assignment](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-devri): Describes transferring a trademark by notarized agreement and recording it at TÜRKPATENT, including partial transfer, inheritance and merger records.
- [Legal Protection](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/hukuki-koruma): Explains attorney support for bulletin oppositions, appeals against refusals, counter-statements and trademark infringement cases.
- [How to Assign a Trademark in Turkey: Step-by-Step Guide](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/how-to-assign-a-trademark-in-turkey): A trademark is assigned in Turkey by a notarised agreement and recordal with TÜRKPATENT. Step-by-step process, contract terms, partial assignment and 2026 fee.
- [Can a Trademark Be Inherited? How a Trademark Passes to Heirs in Turkey](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/can-a-trademark-be-inherited): A registered trademark can be inherited: it joins the estate on death and passes to the heirs. Recordal with a certificate of inheritance, multiple heirs and fee.
- [Trademark Licence Agreement: Turning Your Brand Into Revenue](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-licence-agreement-guide): What is a trademark licence agreement? Exclusive vs non-exclusive licences, royalty models, registering the agreement, quality control, and key clauses.
- [Can a Trademark Be Assigned to Multiple Owners?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/can-a-trademark-be-assigned-to-multiple-owners): A trademark can be assigned to several people jointly (co-ownership in shares) or split by partial assignment. Rules, risks and the co-ownership protocol.
- [Trademark Assignment Fees in Turkey 2026: Official Fee Schedule, Notary and Total Cost](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-assignment-fees-in-turkey-2026): The 2026 fee for recording a trademark assignment in Turkey is TRY 5,960. The real cost with notary, attorney, partial assignment and inheritance items.
- [Buying a Trademark in Turkey: What to Check Before You Sign](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/buying-a-trademark-due-diligence): Buying a trademark in Turkey? Check the registered owner, scope, term, use and revocation risk, licenses, pledges and attachments, and contract safeguards.