The trademark vs copyright question fits in one sentence: copyright protects a creative work and arises automatically when the work is created; a trademark protects the sign showing which business goods and services come from, and in Turkey it arises through registration. Copyright generally lasts 70 years after the author's death; a trademark can live indefinitely if it is renewed every 10 years.
The two rights can overlap on the same object, a logo being the classic example, and they can belong to different people. Below we compare the governing laws, how each right comes into being, how long it lasts, what it covers and how it is transferred in a 10-point table, and then show which protection to pursue for common assets such as logos, slogans and software.
What Is Copyright and What Does It Protect?
Copyright means the full set of moral and economic rights granted to the author of a work under Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (FSEK, Fikir ve Sanat Eserleri Kanunu). Under Article 1/B of FSEK, a work is an intellectual or artistic product that "bears the characteristics of its author" and falls into one of the categories listed in the law: scientific and literary works, musical works, works of fine art, or cinematographic works.
Two conditions must be met together: the product must reflect the personal characteristics of its author (originality), and it must fit one of the statutory categories of works. Books, articles, website copy, photographs, illustrations, graphic designs, musical compositions, films and computer programs are typical examples. Article 2 of FSEK lists computer programs among scientific and literary works, and Article 4 includes graphic works among works of fine art.
The author's rights fall into two groups. Moral rights cover the power to decide on making the work public, to be named as the author and to prohibit unauthorized changes to the work; economic rights cover adaptation, reproduction, distribution, performance and communication to the public (FSEK Articles 14–25).
What copyright does not protect is the idea itself. Two authors starting from the same idea can create two separate works; what is protected is the original expression of the idea. FSEK states this principle expressly for software: the ideas and principles underlying any element of a computer program are not considered works. We map out the ways ideas can be protected in a separate guide on how to protect a business idea.
What Is a Trademark Right and What Does It Protect?
A trademark right is the exclusive right to use a registered sign for the goods and services covered by the registration. Under Article 4 of Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK, Sınai Mülkiyet Kanunu), a trademark may consist of any sign that distinguishes the goods or services of one business from those of others and can be represented in the register clearly and precisely: words including personal names, figures, colors, letters, numbers, sounds and the shape of goods or their packaging.
The value a trademark protects is not aesthetics or creativity but its function of indicating commercial origin. Consumers tell from the sign who a product on the shelf comes from, and trademark law stops others from blurring that link. That is why a plain word with no artistic ambition at all can still be a strong trademark, provided it is distinctive and does not simply describe the goods or services.
Trademark protection is limited to the classes of goods and services for which the mark is registered. The same name can belong to two different businesses in unrelated fields. The exception is the broader protection for marks that have reached a level of reputation in Turkey, set out in Articles 6/5 and 7/2-c of the SMK.
When Does the Right Arise? Only Trademarks Require Registration
This is the fundamental difference: copyright requires no application to any authority, whereas a trademark right does not come into existence without registration. Article 7/1 of the SMK says so in one sentence: "Trademark protection under this Law is obtained through registration."
Copyright registration is optional
Article 13 of FSEK provides that works may be recorded and registered with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism at the author's request, but the law states expressly that this is done "without the purpose of creating rights", in other words to make proof easier. An author who never registers loses nothing, and registration does not give anyone rights over a work that belongs to someone else. Producers of film and music productions, however, are under an obligation to register.
In practice, what decides copyright disputes is the ability to prove who the work belongs to and on what date it existed. Draft files, dated emails, version history and optional registration are the tools for that proof.
For trademarks, the filing date is everything
A trademark right arises through the application and registration procedure before TÜRKPATENT (Turkish Patent and Trademark Office), and priority is determined by the filing date. Having used a sign for years does not automatically protect you against someone who files before you do. The limited options available for unregistered use, such as an opposition based on Article 6/3 of the SMK, are no substitute for registration in terms of either the burden of proof or cost. With a registration, the right is shown beyond dispute by the register entry and the registration certificate.
Term of Protection: 70 Years or Indefinite?
Copyright is limited in time and the work eventually enters the public domain; a trademark does not expire as long as it is renewed. Under Article 27 of FSEK, protection lasts for the author's lifetime and for 70 years after death. Where a work has more than one author, the term runs from the death of the last surviving author; where the first owner of the work is a legal entity, protection lasts 70 years from the date the work was made public.
Under Article 23 of the SMK, trademark protection lasts 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed an unlimited number of times in 10-year periods. In return, a trademark has a "use it or lose it" dimension: a mark that has not been put to genuine use without a valid reason within five years of registration can be revoked on request (SMK Articles 9 and 26). Copyright carries no such use requirement; even a work that has never been published is protected.
Comparison Table: Trademark and Copyright on 10 Criteria
The table below puts the two rights side by side on the ten points where they are most often confused:
| Criterion | Trademark right | Copyright |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK) | Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (FSEK) |
| Subject matter | A sign that distinguishes goods and services | A work bearing the characteristics of its author |
| Core requirement | Distinctiveness and capability of representation in the register (Art. 4) | Originality and falling within a statutory category of works |
| How the right arises | Registration (Art. 7/1) | Creation of the work |
| Where to apply | TÜRKPATENT | No application required; optional registration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism |
| Duration | 10 years, renewable without limit (Art. 23) | Author's lifetime + 70 years after death (FSEK Art. 27) |
| Scope limit | Registered goods and services (except well-known marks) | No classes; the whole work and its parts |
| Use requirement | Five years of non-use is a ground for revocation (Arts. 9, 26) | None |
| Form of transfer | Written, notarized agreement and recordal in the register (Art. 148) | Written contract listing each transferred right separately (FSEK Art. 52) |
| Official cost (2026) | Single class: TRY 2,820 application fee + TRY 7,010 registration fee | No fee for protection; the Ministry sets the fee for optional registration |
The trademark fees in the table come from the TÜRKPATENT 2026 trademark fee schedule (items 02.01.01 and 02.01.03). Because the schedule is updated every year, current amounts should be checked against the TÜRKPATENT fee schedule; official fees do not include an attorney's service fee.
Can the Same Logo Be Both a Trademark and a Work?
Yes. An original logo can be a graphic work under FSEK and a trademark under the SMK at the same time, and the two rights can belong to different people. Trademark registration protects the logo's use as an indicator of commercial origin, while copyright protects the drawing itself, meaning its reproduction, adaptation and use in other media.
The problem arises precisely from this duality. Registering the logo in your company's name does not remove the authorship of the designer who drew it. We cover the technical side of filing in our guide on how to register a logo in Turkey; here we focus on ownership.
How do you obtain a copyright assignment from the designer?
Under Article 48 of FSEK, an author may assign their economic rights or grant only a license to use them. Article 52 of FSEK requires contracts concerning economic rights to be in writing and to list each transferred right separately. Instead of a general sentence such as "all rights in the logo belong to you", the contract should state explicitly that the rights of adaptation, reproduction, distribution, performance and communication to the public are assigned without limitation as to time, territory and media.
For in-house designers, Article 18 of FSEK makes things easier: unless the contract or the nature of the work indicates otherwise, the employer exercises the rights in works created by an employee in the course of their job. This rule does not apply to freelancers, agencies or logo contests, where a written assignment is essential.
Without an assignment: opposition and invalidation risk
Under Article 6/6 of the SMK, if a trademark application contains someone else's copyright, the application is refused upon the right holder's opposition. After registration, the same ground can support an invalidation action in court under Article 25 of the SMK. In other words, a logo without an assignment contract is exposed if the relationship with the designer breaks down, even once it is registered. The copyright status of logos produced with AI tools is even less clear; we examine that question separately in can AI-generated logos be trademarked.
Names, slogans and short phrases
A one-word brand name or a short slogan rarely reaches the level of originality needed to count as a work, so trademark registration is the practical way to protect such signs. We explain the distinctiveness threshold for slogans and the filing strategy in our guide on registering a slogan as a trademark.
What Does Each Right Give You Against Infringement?
Both rights let you seek to stop and prevent infringement and to claim damages, but their legal bases, what must be proven and some of the consequences differ. On the trademark side, Article 29 of the SMK defines acts of infringement, and Article 149 sets out claims such as a declaration of infringement, prevention, cessation, seizure and compensation for material and moral damage; we detail the elements in our article on trademark infringement. For the criminal offense of trademark infringement, the mark must be registered in Turkey (SMK Article 30/5).
On the copyright side, FSEK provides for an action to remove the infringement (Article 66), an action to prevent infringement (Article 69) and a damages action (Article 70). Article 68 of FSEK also allows the right holder, in cases of unauthorized use, to claim up to "three times more" than the fee they could have demanded had a contract been made, or than the market fee.
What must be proven also differs. In a trademark case, ownership is easily shown with the registration certificate, and the debate focuses on similarity and likelihood of confusion. In a copyright case, you must first prove that the work is original, that it belongs to you and that it existed before the other party's use. In a single incident, for example when your logo is copied exactly and printed on products, relying on both rights together is possible and is often the strongest route.
Which One When? A Practical Decision Guide
The right question is not "trademark or copyright" but "which one, or both, for which asset". A short guide for the assets businesses deal with most often:
- The trading name of a product, service or company: Trademark registration. A name is not protected by copyright.
- Logo: Trademark registration plus a written copyright assignment from the designer. If either is missing, protection is only half complete.
- Slogan: Trademark registration; pay attention to the distinctiveness requirement.
- Website copy, blog posts, product photos: Copyright arises automatically; keep drafts and publication dates.
- Mascot or character: The drawing is protected by copyright; if it will serve as an indicator of commercial origin, register it as a figurative mark as well.
- Software: Source code is protected by copyright and the product name by trademark; if a technical method is involved, a patent should be considered separately.
- Social media username: It creates neither copyright nor trademark rights; security comes only from registering the name as a trademark (see social media handles and trademark rights).
Where technical inventions or product appearance are involved, patents, utility models and designs come into play. You can find the differences between these industrial property rights in trademark vs patent, design and utility model, and the patent filing steps in our guide on how to file a patent application in Turkey.
Five Common Mistakes
When the difference between trademark and copyright is overlooked, these are the mistakes we see most often:
- "I paid for the logo, so the rights are mine." Payment is not an assignment; FSEK Article 52 requires written form and a separate listing of each right.
- "I registered my work with the Ministry, so my brand is protected too." Copyright registration creates no trademark right; someone else can still file the same name with TÜRKPATENT and register it as a trademark.
- "My trademark is registered, so nobody can use my logo drawing." A trademark right protects commercial use within the scope of registration; non-trademark uses of the drawing are the territory of copyright.
- "I found it online, so I can use it in my logo." A logo that contains someone else's photo or illustration without permission is open to an Article 6/6 SMK opposition and to a copyright lawsuit.
- "If I don't add ©, I'm not protected." Under FSEK the © symbol is not a condition of protection; it only serves as a warning.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways
- Copyright protects the work, meaning the original expression, and arises automatically with it; a trademark right protects a commercial sign and arises through registration.
- Copyright lasts for the author's life plus 70 years; a trademark can be protected indefinitely through renewal every 10 years, but it must be used.
- A logo is where the two rights meet: plan the trademark registration and the written copyright assignment together.
- For names and short slogans, trademark registration is the practical route to protection.
- Understanding trademark vs copyright lets you rely on both legal bases at once when infringement happens.
Would you like to secure your brand and the rights in your logo together?
Let us review your logo's chain of title, your designer contract and your class coverage together. Our team, which works with trademark attorneys authorized before TÜRKPATENT, prepares your trademark registration in Turkey with ownership risks resolved in advance, and you can send us your questions through our contact page.
