Registered and unregistered designs

Türkiye: practical decision and evidence

In Türkiye, registered designs begin with five years, renewable up to twenty-five; unregistered protection concerns qualifying first disclosure in Türkiye and lasts three years. Preserve disclosure evidence. These routes have different scope and proof issues and are not substitutes for every foreign filing.

Worked file: a product was first sold abroad and the owner assumes Turkish unregistered protection applies automatically. Document the first disclosure and verify territorial requirements, dates and evidence. Compare registered and unregistered routes without assuming they have identical scope or that later Turkish marketing fixes every eligibility issue.

Industrial design registration

Industrial design protection concerns a product’s appearance, including shape, lines, colour and surface features. Compare novelty and individual character before filing. Features dictated solely by technical function are a different issue and are not protected merely because they appear in a photograph.

Design: twelve-month disclosure exception

For Turkish design protection, examine the twelve-month disclosure exception against the actual disclosure date, person and circumstances. Retain dated catalogues and launch records. Do not treat this exception as a safe worldwide filing strategy; other countries can apply different rules.

Design protection up to twenty-five years

Turkish registered designs start with five years of protection and can be renewed in five-year periods up to twenty-five years. Track each design separately. Registration does not make renewal automatic and does not create another twenty-five-year term.

Official filing and support

This guidance concerns Turkish rights unless a section expressly names another jurisdiction. Kayra can coordinate research, document preparation and follow-up. Registration, opposition and grant decisions belong to the competent office. Verify any required representative’s registration and authority before appointing them; court proceedings require appropriately qualified legal representation. The enquiry form requests consultancy, and does not itself file an official application.

Primary official sources

• TÜRKPATENT — Design applications and procedures
• WIPO Lex — Türkiye — Industrial Property Law No.6769
• TÜRKPATENT / ePATS — Official electronic application system