Physical filing route for industrial property rights closed in Turkey

Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT) has recently announced it will close physical filing route for the industrial property rights (patents, trademarks, designs etc.). Accordingly, it will not be possible to physically (non-electronically) file the applications and post-filing demands as from January 01, 2020.

It will be mandatory to file all the applications and demands through EPATS which is the newly introduced web-based electronic filing system of TURKPATENT. The applicants and the patent and trademark attorneys will enter the EPATS via their passwords of e-Government or other methods such as mobile signature, electronic signature, internet banking.

TURKPATENT has issued this decision pursuant to Article 160 of the Turkish Industrial Property Law (Law No. 6769) after completing the technical requirements for the electronic filing system.

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EPATS - New patent application system in Turkey

Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT) has introduced new online patent application system (EPATS).

The new system is put into use with a new interface, removing the defects of the former online application system with the following features:

• Drafts can be created for the repetitive works.
• Uncompleted applications can be saved as drafts for later completing.
• Electronic notifications will be sent by email and SMS upon the completion of the applications.
• Attorney information will be fetched automatically.
• Files can be viewed and filtred by the attorneys.

The system will make it easy for the Turkish patent attorneys and paralegals to handle and administer their applications more smoothly and securely.

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Exams to become a Turkish Patent and Trademark Attorney held on November 16, 2019

The first stage of the examinations, which take place in two stages, to become Turkish patent or trademark attorney were held on November 16, 2019.

The candidates took a multiple choice test of 60 questions and exam papers for measuring practical skills.

In order to become a Turkish patent or trademark attorney, the candidates are required to hold a four-years university degree. A graduation in a specific field, such as law or engineering, or an internship by a registered patent or trademark attorney is not required to take exams and become Turkish patent and trademark attorney.

The qualifying examinations generally cover the following subjects:

• National and international legislation and practices related to the intellectual and industrial property (80% of the questions by weight).
• The initial provisions of the Civil Law and the provisions of the law of persons, the provisions of the contract of attorney of the Law of Obligations, merchant, trade registry, trade name and business name, unfair competition provisions of the Commerce Law (20% of the questions by weight).

Specifically, the subjects of the examination for patent attorney candidates cover national and international laws and practices related to patents and utility models, national and international legislation and practices related to design, general and common issues related to industrial property law, and the subject of the examination for trademark attorney candidates cover national and international laws and practices related to trademarks and geographical indications, national and international legislation and practices related to design, general and common issues related to industrial property law.

The candidates, passing the first stage of the examinations, will take their vocational examinations, which are expected to be held in January 2020, at the next stage.

The qualifying examinations are held once every two years by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT).

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The working conditions of the Turkish IP Academy specified by the newly published regulation

Implementing Regulation on Intellectual Property Academy (Regulation No. 30948) was published in the Turkish Official Gazette on November 14, 2019.

The Regulation regulates the issues related to training, consultancy, research and coordination activities carried out within the academy on intellectual property rights, fees charged for the activities and services rendered, secretariat services and other issues.

According to the Regulation, the Academy will be in charge of the following tasks:

• offering basic and specialized training programs in the field of intellectual property, including formal, distance and mixed theoretical and practical training,
• organizing domestic internship programs, search meetings, panels, conferences, symposiums, congresses and similar activities,
• conducting field researches,
• carrying out coordination and domestic cooperation activities,
• providing advices on IP matters,
• ensuring that the professional knowledge and skills of public and private sector employees in the field of intellectual property are established within the framework of international norms by making personnel certification in accordance with the national and international standards.

The Academy will be administered by a Board, members of which will be consisted of a representative from the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, a representative from the General Directorate of Copyright, two university professors, one of whom is specialized on industrial property rights and the other of whom is specialized on the copyrights, one patent or trademark attorney, one sector representative working in the field of copyrights, one member appointed by the Supreme Court of Appeals and one judge working in the civil or criminal courts of intellectual and industrial rights.

The training centers, which will function as excutive branches of the Academy according to the Regulation, will be established within the body of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

The training centers will be authorized to issue certificate or certificate of attendance to the eligible participants with or without examination, depending on the nature of the training and the conditions announced in advance. These centers will also publish educational materials, research reports, dissertations, scientific, legal or technical articles in the field of intellectual property in electronic and/or printed media and will launch a website for the public use for these purposes.

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Turkey withdrew its declaration under Article 14 (5) of Madrid Protocol

WIPO has announced that Turkey withdrew its declaration under Article 14(5) of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (“Madrid Protocol”). The withdrawal became effective on October 18, 2019.

As a result of the withdrawal, Turkey can be the subject of a subsequent designation in respect of any international registration, including international registrations effected before January 1, 1999, the date on which the Madrid Protocol entered into force with respect to Turkey.

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TURKPATENT updated the online patent search tool

Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT) has made a long-awaited update on the patent search and file inspection tool on its website. The update has introduced a new interface and functionalities to the patent search and online file inspection tool.

One of the new features put into service by this update is the possibility to access to the patent documents and files by online. Thus, applicants, patent holders and third parties will be able to inspect the files and documents of the published patent applications and patents by online.

The users will also benefit from detailed search, advanced search, image viewing, and document export functions of the patent search tool.

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Turkish Patent and Trademark Office has published new examination guideline for trademarks

Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT) has published a new examination guideline for trademarks, titled “Trademark Examination Guideline.”

The Guideline, which is a revised version of the Guideline issued in 2011, was prepared based on the decisions of the Board of Appeal of TURKPATENT, the decisions of the Turkish Intellectual Property Courts, the case-law of the Turkish Supreme Court. It also takes into consideration the decisions and practices of the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Thus, the Guideline clarifies many challenging issues with trademark examples in view of the decisions within the scope of the Turkish and European law and practices.

The Guideline covers many aspects of trademarks and guides examiners, applicants and attorneys for evaluating the registrability of the trademarks under the Turkish Industrial Property Law. Specifically, the Guideline provides general approaches regarding identicalness, confusingly similarity, descriptiveness, and distinctiveness issues, non-traditional trademarks, hashtag trademarks and many hot topics.

The Guideline is not a legislative or regulatory document and thus does not have a binding nature, rather remains a document of practice covering various examples and scenarios in the face of the challenging trademark cases.

TURKPATENT states that the Guideline is not a static but dynamic document changing with the new laws, regulations and the case-law in both Turkey and European Union. Therefore, it is stated that the document will be regularly updated to comply with the most recent developments on trademark matters.

The Guideline will be extremely valuable for the examiners and trademark practitioners in Turkey, as the Turkish Industrial Property Law, which came into force in early 2017, has required the trademark examiners and practitioners to develop new approaches on trademark matters.

Download Link: Turkish Trademark Examination Guideline (2019)

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Turkish Supreme Court said the final word on non-use cancellation actions

Turkish Supreme Court (TCC) has recently clarified a long-disputed issue on non-use of trade marks.

Background

A Specialized Court of Intellectual and Industrial Property (IP Court) filed a request for the cancellation of Article 14 of the Decree Law no. 556, which includes provisions regarding use of trade marks and their cancellation in case that they are not used within five years from their registration. Meanwhile, the draft law for industrial property was enacted on December 22, 2016 by the Turkish Parliament. The new Industrial Property Law (IPL) was published and came into force on 10 January 2017.

Just before the entry into force of the IPL, the TCC’s decision cancelling Article 14 of the Decree Law No. 556 on January 06, 2017 was published and took effect. The decision of the TCC were established on the grounds that trade mark rights cannot be annulled on the basis of the provisions of Decree Law on the grounds that those rights are proprietary rights and so the fundamental rights in the constitutional meaning which are not allowed to be annulled under the Decree Laws.

As the IPL, which includes use provisions likewise, come into force after the cancellation of Article 14, many non-use pending cancellation actions filed under the Old  Decree Law were dismissed by the IP Courts due to 4-day legal gap before the effective date of the IPL and on the grounds that there are no longer provisions which allow trade marks, which are not genuinely used within the 5-years as from their registration, to be cancelled by non-use cancellation actions at the Courts.

This has not remained limited to only pending non-use cancellation actions but also raised the question about when the non-use cancellation actions can be filed under the IPL. As the IPL came into effect on January 10, 2017 and the laws are not usually made retroactively (as in this case), some academics and IP professionals have argued that non-use cancellation actions can only be filed after January 10, 2022 for the trade marks registered under both the old Decree Law and the IPL  with the following considerations:

• There is no non-use provision before the coming into force of the IPL (as a result of the cancellation of the provision related to the use of trade marks under the Old Decree Law by the TCC)
• the effective date of the IPL is January 10, 2017 and the 5-years use period, as prescribed by the IP Law, can be started as from this date of entry into force.

At the end of all these debates, the Turkish Supreme Court (TSC) has put end to the chaotic situation with its recent decision.

Decision of the Turkish Supreme Court

The TSC has firstly investigated whether the related provisions of the IPL can be applied retroactively and opined that the Laws are not made retroactively as a rule and bear legal consequences prospectively. Whereas it is the general principle, according to the TSC, there is no obstacle for the lawmaker (Turkish Parliament) to make legislations retroactively. The TSC further considered the following facts:

• The provisions of the IPL were enacted on December 22, 2016 by the Turkish Parliament and come into force on January 10, 2017.
• The cancellation decision of the TCC regarding the non-use provisions under the Old Decree Law  came into force on January 06, 2017.

In view of these, the TSC further considered and concluded that:

• It should be accepted that the will of the lawmaker emerged on 22 December 2016 (before the effective date of the decision of the TCC).
• While the main intention of the lawmaker is to implement the non-use provisions retroactively, a legal gap unpredictably emerged due to the TCC’s cancellation decision coming into effect after the enactment date but before the date of entry into force of the IP Law.

The TSC confirmed that non-use cancellation actions can be filed even before January 10, 2022 with regards to trade marks which are not used within 5-years use period.

The TSC has consequently clarified an issue which have been largely debated over 2 years in Turkey. In light of this cas law, anyone can any longer file non-use cancellation actions against trade marks based on non-use claim.

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Use or non-use matter for patents in Turkey

The period for using or working a patented invention is typically three years as from the publication of the patent grant in the Turkish Patent Bulletin or four years as from the application date of the patent, whichever is the later. This period is especially important in respect of the compulsory requests, as it is not possible for third parties to request compulsory license before the expiration of this statuary period.

The due date for use is actually relative since the actual due date for use is calculated considering the date of request for a compulsory license. In other words, the use can be performed any time during the lifetime of the patent but should be performed before the request for compulsory licence for avoiding any risk of compulsory license if three years period have already passed. For instance, if the use has been performed at a time after 3 years as from the publication of the patent grant in the Turkish Patent Bulletin but before the date when the request for compulsory license is filed, the use requirement has been deemed to performed.

In the case of European patents validated in Turkey, the initial 3-years period for the use requirement is calculated based on the publication date of the European patent in the Turkish Patent Bulletin (not the publication date in the European Patent Bulletin). After that period, any third party will be allowed to request compulsory license based on possible non-use.

Whereas the actual use is as defined above, non-use or use declarations, as prescribed by the Implement Regulation (Rule 117 (7)) but not the Law, should be filed within three years as from publication of the decision to grant patent in the Turkish Patent Bulletin or four years as from patent application date, whichever is the later. The use and non-use declarations filed for the patents are published in the Turkish Official Patent Bulletin. The patents in respect of which no use is declared are also published in the Turkish Official Patent Bulletin.

The Implementing Regulation, in general terms, specifies that the market conditions and circumstances beyond the control and will of the patentee is considered in assessing the use. Technical or economic or legal reasons of an objective nature, such as marketing authorization, compliance with standards, need for new applications to be made in different fields are to be deemed to constitute legitimate excuses for the inability to put the patent to use. These reasons in the nature of constituting obstacles for using the patented invention are accepted as reasons beyond the control and will of the patentee.

The Regulation does not prescribe any positive or negative effect on patent rights if use or non-use declaration is not filed within the prescribed due dates. This point is not sufficiently clear but it can be said that the main purpose for requiring to file non-use or use declarations is:

• to keep the third parties informed of the fact whether the patent is being used or not, on what grounds the use has been or has not been performed, or the legitimate reasons for non-use as generally defined in the Regulation, and
• to encourage the patent holders to use their inventions or to grant licenses if they do not use their patented inventions directly in Turkey.

As for the nature of the declarations, a standard form (P-34) in the nature of declaration is provided by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. The form, to be signed by patent attorney on behalf of the patentee, contains the following statements, one of which is selected:

• Pursuant to the seventh and eighth paragraphs of Article 117 of the Regulation on the Implementation of Turkish Industrial Property Code (Law No. 6769), it is hereby declared that the invention subject to the application/patent/utility model is used.

• Pursuant to the seventh and eighth paragraphs of Article 117 of the Regulation on the Implementation of Turkish Industrial Property Code (Law No. 6769), it is hereby declared that the invention subject to the application/patent/utility model is not used.

Although the form provides standard statements, an additional declaration can be submitted along with the form for reasoning non-use or clarifying use. Furthermore, evidences of use in the case of use, and any documents reasoning the non-use in the case of non-use can be attached to the declaration.

The declaration of non-use can cover a legitimate reason as identified above (e.g. procedures of marketing authorization ongoing). On the other hand, the declaration of use can cover a statement how the patented invention is being used in Turkey, e.g. by being imported to Turkey, or being produced in company or facility X located in Turkey etc., which may be useful to discourage third parties who would attempt to request compulsory license.

Alternatively, it is possible to file offer for license to prevent third parties from requesting the compulsory license if the subject invention is not used or will not be put into use by the patent owner. Offer for license can be always withdrawn.

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Turkish IP System has become more modern by new amendments

The Implementing Regulation on Industrial Property Code (Reg. No. 30825) has been amended for simplifying the procedures and formalities regarding the rights-cancelling or rights-restricting actions before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

The new amendments came into force after their publication in the Turkish Official Gazette on July 08, 2019 together with a series of amendments which are made in other laws and regulations for reducing the red-tape in the government affairs and simplifying the citizens' business with the government.

After the amendment of the Regulation, the applicants will not be any longer required to submit notarized signature declaration (where the applicant is a natural person) or list of signatures (where the applicant is a legal entity) regarding their actions cancelling, restricting or withdrawing actions regarding their applications, registration or oppositions. Specifically, the notarized signature declaration or notarized list of signatures will not be required for the following actions anymore:

• Partially renewing a trademark (Reg. Rule 19(ç) (d)).
• Withdrawing a trademark application (Reg. Rule 22(ç) (d)).
• Cancelling trademark rights (Reg. Rule 22(ç) (d)).
• Withdrawing an opposition (Reg. Rule 22(c) (ç)).
• Cancelling rights for geographical indications (Reg. Rule 46(c)).
• Withdrawing an opposition regarding an design application (Reg. Rule 66(c) (ç)).
• Partially renewing a design registration (Reg. Rule 67(c) (ç)).
• Withdrawing a design application or cancelling a design registration (Reg. Rule 110(2)).
• Withdrawing a patent application or cancelling patent rights.

In the first version of the Regulation which was put into force on 24 April 2017 after the introduction of the Industrial Property Code on 10 January 2017, many formalities requiring notarization had been already removed.The recent amendments have further modernized the IP system and made it more applicant-friendly.

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TURKPATENT has made substantive discounts on search and examination reports

Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT) has significantly discounted the official fees for search and examination reports in order to reduce patent and utility model registration costs.

The discounted fees will be limited to a certain number of requests for search and examination as follows:

- 10 requests for real persons,

- 25 requests for legal entities,

- 100 requests for universities.

The discounted fee will be 100 Turkish Lira (20 USD).

Thus, for example, if the applicant is a real person, he/she will be able to benefit from discounted fees up to 20 requests, including 10 for the search reports for patent or utility model applications and 10 for the substantive examination reports for patent or utility model applications.

When the number of requests determined according to the type of applicant is exceeded, the normal fees (if the request is filed through the e-government system) will be applied (590 TL (112 USD) for the search report and 355 TL (67 USD) for the examination report).

In the new schedule of official fees set by TURKPATENT for 2019, it has been noted that the official fees for the European patent validations and PCT national phase entries in Turkey have been substantively increased.

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