A trademark logo search is a search to find out whether a logo, or a trademark with a figurative element, clashes with an identical or similar image that is already registered or has already been filed. If the logo contains a readable word, the search starts with that word; purely figurative marks cannot be found by text at all and must be searched with Vienna Classification codes and image-similarity tools.
Below you will find, step by step, the international coding system for figurative elements, the techniques for searching by code and by image, the criteria used to compare the logos you find, and the limits of a search you run yourself; the filing side of the process is covered separately in our guide to registering a logo in Turkey.
What Is a Logo Search and How Does It Differ from a Word Search?
A logo search is a similarity search designed to catch visual conflicts that a word search cannot see. A word search looks for a string of letters; a visual search compares the image itself, meaning the figure, the composition and any stylized lettering.
The reason lies in the types of trademark. Under Article 4 of Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK), a trademark may consist of any sign, including words (personal names included), figures, colors, letters, numbers, sounds and the shape of goods or their packaging. In the register you will meet three basic forms:
- Word mark: text only, with no special design. We explain its advantages in our article on trademark registration without a logo.
- Word-and-device (composite) mark: a readable word registered together with a figure or stylized lettering.
- Purely figurative mark: a figure, emblem or abstract form containing no readable word at all.
The first two can be found by searching for the word; the third cannot. Non-traditional marks such as colors, sounds and motion marks call for a different search logic altogether; we cover them in our article on color, sound and motion trademarks.
How Do You Search a Logo That Contains Words?
If your logo contains a readable word, the first step is to search for that word. According to the Trademark Examination Guidelines (Marka İnceleme Kılavuzu) published by TÜRKPATENT (Turkish Patent and Trademark Office), consumers generally focus on the word element of marks that combine words and figures, and that is where most of the risk comes from. The method for word searches (exact search, core word and variations) is explained in our guide on how to do a trademark search. Here we focus on three points specific to logos.
First, look at every image in the results list. Both TÜRKPATENT's search screen and Webx's free Turkish trademark search tool show the mark image for each record in the results table. That column tells you whether a record carrying the same word also comes close to your logo visually.
Second, treat stylized letters as a figure as well as a word. A group of letters drawn in a custom typeface may also have been given figurative codes in the register. According to the Guidelines, stylizing words or groups of letters does not remove similarity; it can only affect the degree of visual similarity.
Third, search the figure in your logo separately. Even if your word is unique, if your figure comes close to the distinctive device of another mark, the risk stems from the figure, not the word. At this point the tools change: figurative codes and image search take over.
What Is the Vienna Classification?
The Vienna Classification is the international system that classifies the figurative elements of trademarks using a shared set of codes. Its official name is the "International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks"; it was established by the Vienna Agreement signed on June 12, 1973, and the Agreement entered into force on August 9, 1985. The system is administered by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization).
The Nice Classification sorts goods and services; the Vienna Classification sorts images. Turkey appears on the list of contracting countries published by WIPO. The offices of contracting countries are required to show the codes of figurative elements in official documents and publications relating to registrations and renewals.
As of 2026, the edition in force is the ninth edition, which took effect on January 1, 2023. It comprises 29 categories, 145 divisions, 841 main sections and 930 auxiliary sections. New editions usually enter into force every five years, so check which edition the database you are using is based on when you search by code.
Category, division, section: how to read the codes
Every figurative element is identified by three numbers: the first denotes the category (1 to 29), the second the division and the third the section. The system runs from the general to the particular. In WIPO's own example, the figure of "a little girl eating" falls under Category 2 (Human beings), Division 5 (Children), Main Section 3 (Girls) and is written as code 2.5.3. The examples below are taken from the official list of the ninth edition:
| Code | Level | Official title | Typical logo example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Category | Animals | Emblems with animal figures |
| 3.1 | Division | Quadrupeds (Series I: felines, canines, bears) | Lion, wolf and bear figures |
| 3.1.1 | Section | Lions | A lion silhouette or a lion's head |
| 3.7.1 | Section | Eagles, falcons, vultures, condors | Winged bird-of-prey emblems |
| 5.5.1 | Section | Roses | Cosmetics or florist logos featuring a rose |
| 26.1.1 | Section | Circles | Logos enclosed in a circle |
| 26.4.1 | Section | Squares | Emblems framed by a square |
| 27.5.1 | Section | Letters presenting a special form of writing | Stylized letters and monograms |
| 29.1.1 | Section | Red, pink, orange | Logos filed in specific colors |
Auxiliary sections and multiple coding
Auxiliary sections group elements that are already covered by the main sections according to a particular criterion. In the list, their codes are preceded by the letter "A", and offices may use them at their discretion; for instance, section A 3.1.2 groups heraldic lions.
A logo with several elements is coded separately for each distinctive element. According to WIPO's general notes, if it is not clear which section a figure belongs to, it is placed in both. In search terms, that means you should not rely on a single code: search every element of your logo as well as any borderline neighboring sections.
How Do You Run a Trademark Logo Search by Figurative Code?
A search by figurative code means first translating your logo into Vienna codes and then screening the records that carry those codes within your own classes of goods and services. The steps are as follows:
- Break the logo down into its elements: the figure, any frame or geometric form, stylized letters and color.
- Work from category down to section for each element. WIPO's free, AI-assisted Vienna Classification Assistant suggests the relevant categories for an image you upload and guides you through the selection steps.
- Combine the code with your Nice classes. A code on its own returns very broad results; narrow them to the classes that cover your business.
- Screen the results visually and flag the records that come close to your logo.
- Try neighboring sections too: for example, if the figure could be read as either a circle or an ellipse, search both.
- Keep a record: note the codes you used, the date of the search and what you found.
The database you use has a direct effect on the result. TMview, run by the EUIPO, brings the records of participating offices together on one screen, and TÜRKPATENT data has been available there since 2013. According to TMview's help page, a Vienna code is entered in the format "00.00.00", and adding an asterisk (*) after part of a code also retrieves its subdivisions. A Vienna code cannot, however, be used as a search criterion on its own; it has to be combined with at least one other criterion.
How are different elements coded?
The accuracy of the search depends on coding your logo correctly. Points to watch for four common types of element:
- Animal figures: category 3 splits them into divisions by type. Heads of quadrupeds are, as a rule, placed in the relevant quadruped divisions, while written matter that represents an animal goes into division 27.3.
- Stylized lettering: letters presenting a special form of writing are in division 27.5 and numerals presenting a special form of writing in 27.7. Letters and numerals forming geometric figures are grouped under 27.1.
- Geometric shapes: circles and ellipses are in division 26.1, triangles in 26.3, quadrilaterals in 26.4, and lines and bands in 26.11. Nested forms, such as a square inside a circle, have their own sections.
- Colors: category 29 covers colors. For applications filed in color, a color code may appear alongside the figurative codes.
How Does an Image-Similarity Search Work?
An image-similarity search means uploading your logo file and having the database rank its images by how closely they resemble it. Because it requires no knowledge of coding, it is the most practical complement to a search by figurative code. What it produces is not a legal assessment but a list of candidates that still need to be reviewed.
WIPO Global Brand Database
WIPO's free Global Brand Database lets you search international registrations under the Madrid System together with the collections of participating national and regional offices. You can upload an image to the image filter to rank the results by visual similarity, and you can also apply an image-class filter based on the Vienna Classification. WIPO states that its conceptual image-similarity algorithm is trained to identify the figurative elements in logos, and it recommends using the cropping tool to limit the image to the region of interest for the best results.
A practical tip: search once with your whole logo and once more with only the dominant figure cropped out. Check the collection list to see whether national Turkish records are included and how current they are; Madrid registrations covering Turkey are in the Madrid collection.
TMview image search
In TMview you can upload an image by clicking the camera icon. According to the help page, the tool accepts JPEG, PNG, GIF and TIFF files larger than 100×100 pixels and no bigger than 2 MB. Combining the image search with filters for Nice class, office and Vienna code keeps the results list manageable.
We compare the databases of other countries, and which tool to use in which market, in our guide to international trademark search databases.
How Should You Compare the Logos You Find?
Each logo you find is compared with yours as a whole and through its dominant element; what matters is not how far two images overlap pixel by pixel but the impression they leave in the mind of the average consumer. We explain the general criteria in our article on the likelihood of confusion; below we summarize only the rules specific to figurative elements.
The approach taken in TÜRKPATENT's Trademark Examination Guidelines gives you a clear framework for sorting results:
| What you are looking at | Approach in the Guidelines | What it means for your search |
|---|---|---|
| A figure in a different size, in black and white, or as a mirror image | Does not remove similarity | Count flipped or rescaled copies as similar |
| A colored version of a black-and-white figure | Generally does not remove similarity | Do not rely on a difference in color |
| Two purely figurative marks showing the same concept (e.g. a lion) in different drawings | Conceptual identity alone is not enough; it must be backed by clear visual similarity | The same animal is not an automatic risk; look at the drawing |
| Two figurative marks with no word element | No aural comparison is made; they are compared visually and conceptually | The assessment rests on the image |
| A word-and-device mark | Consumers generally focus on the word element | Similar words often outweigh a difference in the device |
| A shared group of letters written in stylized form | Stylization does not remove similarity but can affect its degree | Typography gives monograms only limited distance |
Do not forget the goods-and-services axis either: if a similar logo is used in an unrelated sector, the risk usually drops, with well-known marks as the exception to that rule. We discuss what the visual-similarity scores shown by search tools mean in legal terms in our article on trademark similarity percentage.
What Are the Limits of a Logo Search?
A visual search you run yourself is a powerful first screen, but on its own it is not a risk report. The main limits are:
- Coding is done by people: the same figure may have been placed in different sections by different offices or at different times.
- Algorithms capture form, not always meaning: logos that express the same idea with a different drawing can end up near the bottom of the list.
- Coverage varies: not every database holds up-to-date records for every country, and new applications can appear in the system with a delay.
- Rights outside the register are invisible: unregistered logos in use, or a designer's copyright, will not show up in a search. Under Article 6(6) SMK, an application containing someone else's copyright is refused if the right holder opposes it.
- The Turkish register is decisive: for protection in Turkey the primary source is TÜRKPATENT's records; international databases are a supplement.
What Does a Professional Image Search Add?
A professional image search combines coding, image search and word search into a single risk assessment. The attorney screens your logo with several code combinations, checks the status and the goods and services of each record found, and ranks every candidate by the dominant-element test.
The output of that work is usually a written report; we describe what it contains and when you need one in our article on the trademark search report. A professional search is particularly worth its cost in the following situations:
- Your logo contains no words and the figure is its only distinctive element.
- You are about to make a large design investment in packaging, signage or a website.
- You plan to use the logo in more than one country.
Summary: Key Points for a Trademark Logo Search
- Logos that contain words are searched by the word first; purely figurative marks cannot be found by text.
- The Vienna Classification codes figures by category, division and section; as of 2026 the ninth edition is in force.
- A figurative-code search should be narrowed by Nice class, and neighboring sections should be tried as well.
- An image-similarity search produces a list of candidates; the legal comparison is made through the dominant element and the overall impression.
- A difference in size, color or a mirror image does not, on its own, remove similarity.
Shall we run the image search for your logo together?
Send us your logo and a description of your business through our contact page; our team, which works with trademark attorneys authorized before TÜRKPATENT, will run the word, figurative-code and image-similarity searches together and report the findings class by class. That way you make your design and filing decisions knowing exactly where the risk lies.
