# Trademark Protection Guide for Startups

> Trademark protection for startups in Turkey: name search, filing as founder, core classes from TRY 9,830, investor checklist, priority deadline, pivot risks.

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- Last updated: 2026-10-11
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The short answer on trademark protection for startups is this: **search and file the name before you announce it or pitch it to investors, assign a mark filed in a founder's name to the company once it is formed, start with your core classes, bring the rights in assets such as the logo and code into the company through written agreements, and plan foreign filings around the six-month priority period.**

Below you will find a four-stage roadmap table, name selection and searching, class priorities on a tight budget, domain names and usernames, bringing rights into the company, investor review, the plan for going abroad, pivot risk, and the eight mistakes startups make most often.

## What Should a Startup Protect at Each Stage?

Trademark protection for startups is built in layers that follow the company's growth stages: first the name, then the product and visual identity, then the chain of title for investment, and finally foreign markets. Each stage has an asset to protect and a typical mistake.

| Stage | Asset to protect | What to do | Typical mistake |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Idea and pre-incorporation | Name, domain name, first logo draft | Name search, filing in the founder's name, written agreement among founders | Promoting the name while waiting for incorporation |
| MVP and launch | Product name, logo, app name, code | Filing in core classes, assigning the mark to the company, written transfer of rights from designers and developers | Using the logo and code without a written transfer from the outside team |
| Investment round | Trademark portfolio and chain of title | Documenting that the mark is in the company's name, its scope and its register status | Leaving the mark in a founder's name and rushing the assignment during the round |
| Expansion abroad | Trademark rights in target countries | National filings or an international application via the Madrid Protocol within the priority period | Missing the six-month priority period, not checking the target country's register |

The order in the table also answers the question of when to file: before the name leaves the company. We cover the events that should trigger a filing, and a week-by-week timeline, in our guide on [when to register a trademark](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/when-to-register-a-trademark).

## How Should a Startup Choose and Search Its Name?

The name should be a sign that distinguishes the product from its competitors rather than one that describes it, and it should be searched in the register before filing. Under Article 5(1) of Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK), signs that lack any distinctive character (b), and descriptive signs that indicate the kind, quality, intended purpose or other characteristics of the goods or services (c), are refused ex officio by TÜRKPATENT (Turkish Patent and Trademark Office).

Startups tend to favor names that describe the function, because such names say at a glance what the product does. For invoicing software, for example, "Quick Invoice" is descriptive, while an invented name with no link to the product, such as "Kavrela", is strong for both registration and enforcement (both names are examples). Even if a descriptive word is registered together with a logo, it is difficult to obtain broad rights in that word that would exclude competitors.

Run your shortlisted names against identical and similar records using our [free trademark search tool](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-sorgulama). The absence of an exact match is not a guarantee of registration; similarity is assessed in terms of spelling, pronunciation and meaning, together with how the goods and services relate. We explain how to generate and filter names in our guide on [how to choose a brand name](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/how-to-choose-a-brand-name).

## Should a Startup File Before the Company Is Formed?

Yes; once the name is settled, do not wait for incorporation. Article 3 SMK does not make filing conditional on having a company; the application is filed in the founder's name and, once the company is formed, it can be assigned to the company even at the application stage, without waiting for registration (Article 148(8)). The assignment agreement must be notarized (Article 148(4)); under TÜRKPATENT's 2026 trademark fee schedule, the assignment recordal fee is TRY 5,960 (item 02.01.06).

If there are several founders, write into the founders' agreement when the mark will be assigned to the company. We compare assignment and licensing, and the risks specific to ventures with several founders, in our article on [registering a trademark without a company](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/registering-a-trademark-without-a-company).

## Which Classes Should You Start With on a Tight Budget?

Start with the classes for the products or services that bring in revenue today and over the next few years; add other areas through separate applications as you grow.

Under the 2026 fee schedule, the single-class application fee is TRY 2,820 (02.01.01), and a registration fee of TRY 7,010 (02.01.03) is paid at the registration stage. The official total for a single-class file is therefore TRY 9,830, rising to TRY 12,650 when a second class is added (02.01.02 — TRY 2,820); each third and subsequent class costs TRY 3,150 (02.01.28). These amounts do not include any attorney's service fee, and the fee schedule is updated every year; check the current amounts in the TÜRKPATENT fee schedule before filing.

For technology startups, the first question is how the software reaches the customer: a downloadable program or mobile app generally falls in class 9, while software delivered as a service, such as SaaS, falls in class 42. The distinction is covered in detail in our article on [trademark registration for software and SaaS companies](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-registration-for-software-and-saas-companies). Keeping the scope broad may look tempting, but it has two limits: the list cannot be broadened after filing, yet partial cancellation can be requested for goods and services not used within five years (Articles 9 and 26(5)).

## Do Domain Names and Social Media Usernames Protect Your Brand?

No; domain names and usernames are allocated in separate systems and do not by themselves create trademark rights. Under Article 7(1) SMK, trademark protection is obtained through registration.

This distinction matters to startups in two ways. On one hand, owning the domain name for your brand does not protect you against someone else filing a trademark application for the same name. On the other hand, the owner of a registered trademark can prohibit the use of the sign online as a domain name, routing code or keyword in a way that has commercial effect, if the user has no right or legitimate connection relating to the sign (Article 7(3)(d)).

For .tr domain names, TRABİS, the system through which .tr domains are allocated, went live on 14 September 2022; since then extensions such as .com.tr can also be allocated without supporting documents on a first-come, first-served basis. The practical rule is this: on the same day you file for a name that has passed the search, also secure the domain names and the usernames on the main platforms. Platforms' brand protection programs may ask for registration or application details; the conditions vary by platform.

## How Do the Logo, Code and Designs Come to Belong to the Company?

Trademark registration protects the name and the logo as commercial signs; the drawing of the logo, the app's code and the interface designs, however, may separately be rights belonging to whoever created them. Bringing these rights into the company requires different written documents depending on the relationship with the creator. We explain that what is protected is the concrete form rather than the abstract idea, and which tool fits each form, in our guide on [how to protect a business idea](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/how-to-protect-a-business-idea).

### What the founders create

Code written, logos drawn or content prepared by the founders before the company is formed does not pass to the company automatically. Once the company exists, the transfer of these assets to it should be documented in writing; the same rule applies to a trademark application filed in a founder's name.

### What employees create

The rights in works an employee creates while performing their job are, unless otherwise agreed, exercised by the employer. For this rule to work, the job description and the employment contract need to be in writing and clear; work produced outside working hours or outside the scope of the role is open to dispute.

### What freelancers and agencies create

There is no such shortcut for a freelance designer, an agency or an outside development team: the rights have to be transferred in writing, with each right listed individually. With a logo the risk is concrete: under Article 6(6) SMK, a trademark application that contains someone else's copyright is refused on the opposition of the right holder. We have gathered the rules by type of right in our article on [who owns IP created by employees and freelancers](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/who-owns-ip-created-by-employees-and-freelancers).

When you share the name and product details with an outside team, a confidentiality agreement protects business information but not the name; what protects the name is the application. We cover the scope and limits of confidentiality agreements in our article on [what an NDA is](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/what-is-an-nda).

## What Do Investors Look at on the Trademark Side?

Pre-investment legal review (due diligence) means verifying the company's assets and risks with documents before the investment decision. On the trademark side, the expectation is that the name has been registered or applied for in the company's name, with a scope that fits the product and a clean register record. Before the round starts, run through this checklist yourself:

- **Ownership:** Is the mark in the company's name; if it was filed in a founder's name, was it assigned with a notarized agreement and recorded in the register?
- **Scope:** Do the classes and the goods and services list cover today's product and the near-term plan?
- **Status:** What stage is the application at; is there any opposition, refusal or litigation against it?
- **Register entries:** Is there a licence, pledge or attachment recorded against the mark? Recorded rights travel with the mark.
- **Timeline:** Protection lasts 10 years from the filing date; how is the five-year use requirement from registration being met?
- **Chain of title:** Is the transfer of the logo, code and domain names to the company documented?

Fixing these points during the round, under time pressure, is both more expensive and slower. We set out the steps of a full review from a buyer's or investor's perspective in our guide to [IP due diligence](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/ip-due-diligence-before-acquiring-a-company).

## How Do You Protect the Brand When Expanding Abroad?

In target countries you either file national applications or file an international application through the Madrid Protocol based on your Turkish application or registration; the timing is set by the six-month priority period.

The right of priority means the right to carry the date of a first application in a country party to the Paris Convention over, as the priority date, to applications for the same mark and the same goods and services filed in other party countries within six months; Article 12 SMK lays down the same rule for applications filed in Turkey. The longer the Turkish filing is delayed, the later your priority abroad becomes. We explain the conditions for claiming it in our article on the [trademark priority right](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/priority-right-in-trademark-registration).

On the Madrid route, TÜRKPATENT forwards the application to WIPO; under the 2026 fee schedule, the Office's fee for this notification is TRY 3,850 (02.01.19). WIPO and designated-country fees are paid separately in Swiss francs and can be calculated with WIPO's fee calculator. For five years from the date of registration, the international registration depends on the basic application or registration in Turkey: if the basic right falls away during that period, the international registration is cancelled to the same extent. For a startup whose name faces opposition risk in Turkey, this ties the foreign plan to the strength of the basic application.

## How Do a Pivot and a Rebrand Affect the Trademark?

A pivot can leave a registered trademark partly or entirely ineffective, because protection is limited to the registered sign and the registered goods and services.

Distinguish three situations. If the product changes but the name stays, check whether the new product appears in the existing list; if not, the new product needs a separate application, because the list cannot be broadened later. If the name changes, the new name should be protected with a separate application before it is announced; the old registration does not protect the new name. If the logo is refreshed, use with differences that do not alter the distinctive character still counts as use (Article 9(2)(a)); but because the representation of the mark in an application cannot be changed (Article 11(6)), a fundamentally new logo needs a separate application.

If you are dropping the old name, decide deliberately what happens to the old filing. If use stops entirely, the mark becomes open to a cancellation request once five years have passed from registration (Article 9). An application that has not yet been registered can be withdrawn before registration (Article 28(5)); fees already paid are, as a rule, not refunded (Article 161(4)).

## What Are the 8 Most Common Trademark Mistakes Startups Make?

The most expensive mistakes are made in decisions taken before filing:

1. **Announcing the name before filing:** The pitch, demo day or pre-sale page comes before the application.
2. **Choosing a descriptive name:** A name that describes the function risks ex officio refusal and is hard to enforce.
3. **Searching only for the domain name:** An available domain name does not mean the trademark is available.
4. **Leaving the mark in one founder's name:** It becomes a bargaining chip when a partner leaves and during an investment round.
5. **Using the logo and code without a written transfer:** The designer's copyright can be a ground for opposing the application (Article 6(6)).
6. **Spending the budget on the wrong classes:** Classes you will not use waste money, and skipping the core class leaves the main product unprotected.
7. **Missing the priority deadline:** The application in the target market cannot benefit from the date of the Turkish filing.
8. **Relying on the old registration after a pivot:** A new name or a new product group is not within the scope of the old registration.

## Conclusion

- Trademark protection for startups is built stage by stage: the name, the product and visual identity, the chain of title for investment, then foreign markets.
- Search and file the name before announcing it; if the company does not exist yet, file in the founder's name and assign it to the company later.
- Start with a core class: in 2026 the official total for a single-class file is TRY 9,830.
- Bring the rights in the logo, code and designs from founders, employees and outside teams into the company in writing.
- Plan foreign filings around the six-month priority period running from the Turkish filing.

### Would you like to tie your venture's trademark to a roadmap?

Working with trademark attorneys authorized before TÜRKPATENT, Webx handles [startup trademark registration](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-tescil) in a single file: the name search, the filing in the founder's or the company's name, the core class strategy and, where needed, the assignment recordal to the company. Share your name candidates, your product and your investment or international timeline through our [contact page](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/iletisim), and we will settle the right order of protection with you.

## Sources

- [Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (Türkiye)](https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=6769&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5) (mevzuat.gov.tr) — Art. 5(1)(b)–(c): non-distinctive and descriptive signs; Art. 9: use; Art. 12: priority; Art. 148(8): assignment of applications
- [TÜRKPATENT — Trademark Fees (2026)](https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/marka-islem-ucretleri) (turkpatent.gov.tr) — Items 02.01.01, 02.01.02, 02.01.03, 02.01.28, 02.01.19
- [WIPO — The Madrid System (international trademark registration)](https://www.wipo.int/en/web/madrid-system) (wipo.int)
- [TRABİS — .tr domain name registry](https://www.trabis.gov.tr/) (trabis.gov.tr)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### If the product name and the company name differ, which should a startup register?

Register first the name users search for and see on invoices and screens, which for most startups is the product name. Registering a trade name in the trade registry does not create trademark rights; however, the owner of a registered trademark can prohibit others from using the sign as a trade name. When the budget allows, protect the company name with a separate application.

### Can a startup raise investment before its trademark application is decided?

Yes. Investors want to see the status and ownership of the mark rather than a certificate: that the application was filed in or assigned to the company's name, that there is no opposition or refusal against it, and that the scope covers the product. An application is not a guarantee of registration, so putting the clearance search report and the filing documents in the data room speeds up the review.

### Does an accelerator or incubator acquire rights in a startup's trademark?

Joining a program does not by itself create rights in the mark; the mark belongs to whoever is entered in the register as the applicant. However, participation agreements may contain clauses on intellectual property, equity or revenue sharing. Before signing, read the provisions on trademark, domain name and software rights, and consult a legal professional if needed.

### Why should a startup monitor the Official Trademark Bulletin?

Because the right to oppose a similar application is lost at that stage if it is not used within two months of publication. For any startup whose name is becoming known, others filing similar names is a real risk; monitoring the Bulletin regularly lets you spot similar applications in time and decide whether to oppose. This monitoring should continue after your own application is registered.

### Does publishing an app in an app store first give trademark rights?

No. Under Article 7(1) SMK, trademark protection is obtained through registration; having published the app in a store first does not by itself confer trademark rights. Earlier use can serve as a basis for opposing someone else's application, but that requires proving the use with evidence. In infringement complaints on app stores, a registered trademark is also the strongest basis.

### If a startup refreshes its logo, does it need a new trademark application?

It depends on the extent of the change. Use with minor differences that do not alter the distinctive character counts as use of the registered mark. A fundamentally new logo, however, needs a separate application, because the representation of the mark in an application cannot be changed afterward. Protecting the name separately as a word mark keeps the name protected even when the logo changes.

### What should a startup do if its trademark application is refused?

The refusal can be appealed with reasons within two months of notification; the appeal is examined by the Re-examination and Evaluation Board (YİDK). Application fees paid are, as a rule, not refunded on refusal. If the refusal is based on descriptiveness or a strong earlier mark, searching and filing an alternative name before the launch is complete is often the less costly route.

## Related Resources

- [Trademark Registration](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-tescil): Explains how a trademark application is handled before TÜRKPATENT, from the preliminary search and class selection to the registration certificate.
- [Trademark Search](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-sorgulama): Provides a free tool and method for checking whether a brand name is registrable by searching similar and registered trademarks.
- [Can You Register a Trademark Without a Company?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/registering-a-trademark-without-a-company): Yes, you can register a trademark in Turkey without a company: file in your own name, then assign or license it to the company. 2026 fees, risks, co-founders.
- [When Should You Register a Trademark? A Guide to Getting the Timing Right](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/when-to-register-a-trademark): When to register a trademark: once the name is final and before you share it. Six-month priority for trade fairs and exports, launch risks and a weekly plan.
- [How to Choose a Brand Name: A Guide to Finding a Registrable Name](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/how-to-choose-a-brand-name): How to choose a brand name: distinctiveness levels, methods for finding a registrable name, elimination criteria, and a pre-filing checklist.
- [Who Owns a Logo, Design or Invention Created by an Employee or a Freelance Designer?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/who-owns-ip-created-by-employees-and-freelancers): Who owns a logo, software, design or invention made by an employee or freelancer? FSEK and SMK rules, notification deadlines and a contract checklist.
- [Trademark Registration for Software and SaaS Companies](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-registration-for-software-and-saas-companies): For software companies a trademark is a standard due diligence item. Product name or company name, the domain relationship, and app store risk.
- [How Do You Review a Company's Trademark and IP Portfolio Before Acquiring It?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/ip-due-diligence-before-acquiring-a-company): IP due diligence in a company acquisition: share vs asset deals, registry checks, the chain of title, red flags and contractual protections for the buyer.