The short answer to what happens after filing a trademark application in Turkey is this: your file goes before TÜRKPATENT (the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office) through a formal examination, a classification check, an absolute-grounds examination, publication in the Official Trademark Bulletin, a two-month opposition period, opposition proceedings if any, and registration, in that order. The mark is registered only if the registration fee requested at the final stage is paid on time (Article 22 of Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK)).
Below you will find, in order, what each stage means, what is expected of you, which deadlines are fixed by law and regulation, and what you can and cannot do with your mark during this waiting period; an estimate of the overall timetable is the subject of our guide on how long trademark registration takes.
Seven Stages from Filing to Registration: Overview
Your application receives an application number as soon as it is submitted through EPATS and the application fee is paid; from then on, the process is in the Office's hands. The table below shows the seven stages, their legal basis, the deadlines fixed by the SMK and by the Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial Property Law (the Regulation), and your role, all at a glance.
| Stage | Legal basis | Window set by law | What is expected of you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Formal examination | SMK Art. 15 | 2 months if there is a deficiency | Remedy the deficiency in time |
| 2. Classification check | SMK Art. 11(3), Regulation Art. 9 | 2 months if clarification is requested | Clarify the wording of the list |
| 3. Absolute-grounds examination | SMK Arts. 5 and 16 | 2 months to appeal a refusal | Read the decision and appeal if needed |
| 4. Publication in the Bulletin | SMK Art. 16(2) | — | Check the published entry |
| 5. Opposition period | SMK Art. 18 | 2 months from publication | Wait and monitor the file |
| 6. Opposition proceedings (if any) | SMK Arts. 19–21 | 1 month to respond (Regulation Art. 28(4)) | Respond and, if appropriate, request proof of use |
| 7. Registration and entry in the register | SMK Art. 22, Regulation Art. 12 | 2 months for the registration fee | Pay the registration fee |
The windows in the table are the periods the Office grants you, and missing any of them leads to a loss of rights. The Office's own examination times, by contrast, are not fixed in days in the legislation and vary with its workload. That is why the honest answer to what happens after filing a trademark application is not a calendar but a sequence of stages: if you know which stage you are at, you also know the next step and the deadline that binds you.
1. Formal Examination: Is the File Complete?
The formal examination is the first stage, in which the Office checks whether the application meets the requirements of Article 3 of the SMK (who may apply) and Article 11 (the contents of the application); the registrability of the mark is not assessed here. What is checked is the applicant's identity details, the representation of the mark, the list of goods and services, proof that the fee has been paid and, where relevant, additional elements such as a priority claim or a transliteration of non-Latin characters.
If there is no deficiency, the application is fixed as of the date, hour and minute on which it was received. That moment matters: Articles 5(1)(ç) and 6(1) of the SMK treat an earlier-filed mark as a bar to registration. Against an identical or similar application filed one minute after yours, you have priority; an application filed one minute before yours, on the other hand, may stand in your way.
If there is a deficiency, you are given two months to remedy it (SMK Article 15(1)). Where the deficiency concerns a core element, such as the identity details, the representation of the mark, the list of goods and services or the application fee, the filing date moves to the moment the deficiency is remedied (Article 15(2)); an application whose deficiency is not remedied in time is removed from processing. We explain in a table which deficiencies affect the filing date in our guide to the trademark application deficiency notice.
2. Classification Check: The List Is Clarified
The classification check means reviewing whether the goods and services in the application are worded in line with the Nice classification. Article 11(3) of the SMK empowers the Office to make the necessary corrections to classes and class numbers, so after filing you may see adjustments made to your list by the Office.
Under Article 9(3) of the Regulation, if the list contains a general term or an expression that needs explaining, the Office asks for clarification within two months; if none is given, that expression is deleted from the list. The key rule at this stage is that the list can be narrowed or clarified but cannot be broadened. The only way to extend the scope later is a new application.
3. Absolute-Grounds Examination: The Mark Itself Is Assessed
The absolute-grounds examination is the stage in which the Office examines the mark of its own motion against the grounds in Article 5 of the SMK: distinctiveness, descriptiveness, deceptiveness and whether an identical or indistinguishably similar earlier mark exists for identical or same-type goods and services. Relative grounds, such as likelihood of confusion, are not examined at this stage; they come into play only on opposition.
The examination ends in one of three outcomes: the application proceeds to publication as filed, it is refused for some goods and services, or it is refused in full (Article 16(1)). In a partially refused file, the remaining scope continues; we cover the options in that situation in our article on partial refusal of a trademark application. Both types of refusal can be appealed in writing, with reasons, within two months of notification of the decision (Article 20).
4. Publication in the Official Trademark Bulletin
An application that passes the formal examination and the absolute-grounds examination is published in the Official Trademark Bulletin (Article 16(2)). Publication makes the application public and allows holders of earlier rights to exercise their right of opposition. The entry shows the application number and date, the applicant's details, the representation of the mark, the list of goods and services and, where applicable, the items that were partially refused (Regulation Article 11).
The only thing you need to do on the day of publication is check the entry: are the representation of the mark, the owner's name and the list correct? We explain how the Bulletin is structured and how entries are read in our guide to the Official Trademark Bulletin. After publication and until registration, anyone may also submit written observations that the mark cannot be registered on absolute grounds, except the ground in Article 5(1)(ç) (Article 17). Such persons do not become parties to the proceedings; however, if the Office finds the observations justified, it can refuse the application in part or in full.
5. The Two-Month Opposition Period
Publication triggers the two-month opposition period: during this time, interested parties may argue in writing, with reasons, that the application should not be registered under Article 5 or Article 6 of the SMK, and the opposition fee must be paid within the same period (Article 18). For the applicant this is a waiting period; opposition is a tool for holders of earlier rights, not for you.
If no opposition has been filed when the period expires, the file moves on to registration; if an opposition has been filed, stage six begins. Knowing the grounds on which oppositions are filed helps you anticipate the arguments you may face; our guide on filing a trademark opposition covers that side. The same window matters to you after registration as well: you need to catch other parties' similar applications within two months of their publication, and a trademark watch service does exactly that monitoring.
6. If an Opposition Is Filed: Response, Proof of Use and Decision
An opposition does not mean the application will be refused; the Office notifies you of the opposition, takes your response and decides on the basis of both parties' submissions (Article 19). This is the stage at which the applicant needs to be most active.
Filing a response
Under Article 28(4) of the Regulation, the Office gives you one month to submit your response to the opposition. If no response is filed in time, the opposition is assessed on the information and documents already in the file. We walk through how to build the defense step by step in our article on what to do when an opposition is filed against your mark.
Requesting proof of use
If the opposition is based on likelihood of confusion with a mark that had been registered in Turkey for at least five years on your filing date, you may ask the opponent to prove genuine use of that mark during the preceding five years (Article 19(2)). The request must be made within the response period, expressly and in writing (Regulation Article 29(1)). An earlier mark whose use cannot be proven cannot sustain the opposition.
The decision and appeals against it
The Office upholds the opposition, upholds it in part or rejects it (Article 19(3)); if it considers it appropriate, it may encourage the parties to settle (Article 19(4)). If the parties jointly notify the Office that they will go to mediation, examination of the opposition is suspended for three months, and this can be extended by up to three months at their joint request (Regulation Article 32(3)); this window can be used for scope limitations or coexistence agreements.
A party adversely affected by the decision may appeal it within two months of notification. Such appeals are examined by the Re-examination and Evaluation Board (YİDK), which issues the Office's final decision (Articles 20–21).
7. Registration Decision, Registration Fee and Entry in the Register
If there is no opposition, or if all oppositions have been finally rejected, the Office notifies you to pay the registration fee. Under TÜRKPATENT's 2026 trademark fee schedule, the trademark registration fee (item 02.01.03) is TRY 7,010; Article 12 of the Regulation requires proof of payment to be submitted within the two-month period set by the Office. Current amounts should always be checked against the TÜRKPATENT fee schedule, which is updated every year, and attorney service fees are not included in this amount.
Once the fee is paid, the mark is registered, entered in the register and the registration is published in the Bulletin (Article 22(1)). If a mark has been registered before a stage was completed, it is not treated as registered, the procedure resumes from the incomplete stage and the registration fee already paid is not requested again; once two years have passed from the registration date, however, the registration is no longer affected by that gap (Article 22(2)).
If the fee is not paid in time, the application is removed from processing even if every earlier stage went in your favor; we set out the consequences, with worked figures, in our article on what happens if the registration fee is not paid. For the contents and uses of the document you receive at the end of the process, see our guide to the trademark registration certificate.
Where and How Do the Office's Notifications Arrive?
Notifications of deficiencies, refusals, oppositions and the registration fee arrive electronically: they land in your file in EPATS and in the electronic mailbox the Office has allocated to you, and the status of the file can also be followed through e-Devlet. Under Article 160(6) of the SMK, electronic service is deemed made on the date you first access the document and, in any event, at the end of the tenth day after it was placed in the mailbox. In other words, not opening a notification does not stop the clock.
Service by public notice, where required, is made through the Bulletin and is deemed made seven days after the Bulletin is published (Article 160(7)); if your contact details are out of date, you can miss a deadline without ever hearing about it.
If you work with a trademark attorney, service is made on the attorney and counts as service on you (Article 160(4)). When a notification arrives, the sequence to follow is simple:
- Identify the type of notification: a deficiency, a refusal decision, an opposition or a request for the registration fee.
- Put the date of service and the last day in your calendar; every stage deadline runs from the date of notification.
- If a fee is due, pay it and confirm in the file that proof of payment has reached the Office.
- Submit your complete response, with its reasoning, before the deadline; as with appeals against decisions, some procedures do not allow reasons to be added later.
We explain how to use the application and file screens in EPATS in our guide to filing a trademark application through EPATS.
Can You Use the Mark While the Application Is Pending?
Yes, you can use your mark while the application is pending; the law contains no provision prohibiting the applicant from using it. However, the rights that a trademark confers against third parties take effect from the date the registration is published (SMK Article 7(4)). This means your ability to stop others from using the mark at the application stage is limited.
The law partly fills that gap: you can bring an action for damages for acts committed after your application was published in the Bulletin that could be prohibited once the mark is registered; however, the court cannot rule on the merits of the claims before the registration is published (Article 7(4)). Three practical rules for this period:
- Do not use the ® symbol until the registration has been published; the existence of an application does not justify it.
- An application is not a shield against infringing someone else's earlier right; if you conflict with an earlier mark, using yours carries risk.
- Keep dated evidence of your use (invoices, packaging, promotional material); it is useful in opposition proceedings and, later, if you ever need to prove use.
What Can Be Changed in the File During This Period?
Between filing and registration, some actions on the file are possible and others are closed by law. The limit is the principle that neither the representation of the mark nor the scope may be expanded:
- Possible: Narrowing the list of goods and services or partially withdrawing the application (SMK Article 28(5)).
- Possible: Dividing the application into two or more applications until registration (Article 11(5); item 02.01.22 in the 2026 schedule, TRY 4,190).
- Possible: Assigning the application; the provisions on legal transactions also apply to applications (Article 148(8)).
- Possible: Having spelling mistakes and obvious errors corrected where the correction does not alter the representation or the list (Article 11(6)).
- Not possible: Changing the representation of the mark or adding new goods and services to the list; both require a new application.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways
- After filing, the file passes through seven stages; registration happens only if the registration fee at the final stage is paid on time.
- The deadlines that bind you are fixed: 2 months for a deficiency, 2 months to appeal a refusal, 1 month to respond to an opposition and 2 months for the registration fee.
- Publication in the Bulletin is not registration; the file is not settled until the two-month opposition period has closed.
- Electronic service is deemed made at the end of the tenth day at the latest, even if you never open it; while you wait to see what happens after filing a trademark application, the biggest risk is an unopened notification.
- You can use the mark while the application is pending, but your rights can be fully enforced only from the publication of the registration.
Shall We Follow Every Stage of Your Application Together?
Working with trademark attorneys authorized before TÜRKPATENT, Webx handles every notification after a trademark registration application within its deadline: responses to deficiency notices, appeals against refusals, responses to oppositions and tracking of the registration fee all run in one file. If your application has already been filed, send us your application number via our contact page, and we will establish together which stage the file is at today and which deadlines lie ahead.
