What are the patentability criteria?

1. Novelty
Inventions not being part of the state of the art in the global sense are deemed to be novel.

2. Inventive Step
An invention is deemed to involve inventive step, if it is the result of an activity which is not obviously inferred by a person skilled in the art.

3. Industrial Applicability
An invention is susceptible to industry, if the invention can be produced or used in any given field of industry, including agriculture.

Is every subject matter patentable?
No, the followings are excluded from patentability in Turkey:

a) Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods;
b) Plans, methods, schemes/rules for performing mental acts, for conducting business/trading activity, and for playing games.
c) Literary and artistic works, scientific works, creations having an aesthetic characteristic, computer programs.
d) Methods involving no technical aspect, for collecting, arranging, offering/presenting and transmitting information/data.
e) Methods of diagnosis, therapy and surgery applying to human or animal body.

What protection means are available in Turkey?
Inventions are protected by

1. Patent with examination for 20 years (non-extendable)
2. Patent without examination for 7 years (non-extendable)
3. Utility model certificate for 10 years (non-extendable)

Can pharmaceutical compositions be patented?
Yes, the products, compositions, and processes for manufacturing same can be patentable.

Can public disclosures affect patentability?
Disclosure of information, subject to the following circumstances, do not affect the patentability of the invention where the information is disclosed in a grace period of 12 months preceding the date of filing or, where priority is claimed, the date of priority of the application:

If the information is disclosed

a) by the inventor,
b) by an office when the information has been contained
(1) in another application filed by the inventor and which application should not have been disclosed by the office, or
(2) in an application filed without the knowledge or consent of the inventor by a third party which obtained the information directly or indirectly from the inventor or,
c) by a third party that obtained the information directly or indirectly from the inventor.

What documents are required for filing a patent application?
a) application petition;
b) description of invention;
c) claim(s);
d) drawings (if any);
e) abstract;
f) bank receipt attesting the payment of application fee.

Can patent specification be filed in languages other than Turkish?
Yes, the description and claim(s) may be filed in English, French or German simultaneously with the patent application. A term of one month is given for translating them into Turkish language.

Is it mandatory to mention the inventor of a patent application?
Yes, the inventor is indicated in the patent application. Where the applicant is not the inventor or the sole inventor, the applicant must declare in the application how he has acquired, from the inventor or inventors the right to apply for a patent.

Can divisional patent application/s be filed?
The application for patent relates to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept. Applications not conforming with this concept are divided into one or several patent applications.

Applicants can also divide applications voluntarily during the application is pending.

Are priority rights arising from display in exhibitions recognized?
Yes, products subject to a patent or a utility model certificate at national or international exhibitions held in Turkey or at, official or officially recognized, national or international exhibitions held in the states party to the Paris Convention, are entitled to claim a right of priority when the application for a patent or utility model is filed within a period of twelve months from the date of the display in the exhibition.

How to claim priority?
An Applicant desiring to benefit from a right of priority can file a claim of priority simultaneously with his application or within two months as from the date of filing his application. Where the right of priority is not documented within three months of the date of filing of the application, the claim to benefit from such priority is deemed not to have been made.

Multiple priorities may be claimed regardless of the fact that the application for a patent filed in foreign countries originates from different countries.

Multiple priorities may be claimed in an application for patent.

What are the effects of a published patent application?
A patent application is published after 18 months from the date of filing of the application or, if any, from the date of the priority claimed.

The protection granted to the right holders of a patent is likewise granted to the applicant of a patent application as from the date of publication of the application for patent in the relevant bulletin and for as long as said application remains in the effect.

When novelty search is requested?
Within 15 months from the date of filing of the application, the applicant must file before the Institute the request to conduct the novelty search and must pay the relevant fee.

Where priority is claimed, the period (15 months) runs as from the date of priority.

Failure to request the search is deemed the application be withdrawn.

How to proceed, patent with substantive examination or without substantive examination?
Within three months following the notification to the applicant of the Search Report, it is opted to proceed with either the system for granting patent with substantive examination or the system for granting patent without substantive examination. Where no system is requested to proceed with, the system for granting patent without substantive examination is deemed to have been retained.

Can a patent without examination be converted to patent with examination?
Yes, the request for conversion must be filed by the patentee or by a third party, within seven years, at the latest, from the date of filing of the application. The substantive examination fee is paid by the party having filed the request for substantive examination.

Can a patent application be challenged?
Yes, third parties can file objections to the grant of the patent by putting forward the non compliance with the patentability requirements, including the lack of novelty or the inventive activity/step or the inadequacy of the description. Documentary evidence, in support thereof, should be enclosed to the objections to be made in written form.

Is there a limit in the number of responses to be submitted against examination reports?
Yes, an applicant is given only three opportunities to file response to examiner’s decisions. Administrative proceedings are completed upon issuance of the third and the last examination report before the Turkish Patent Institute.

Can examiner’s decisions be appealed before the Turkish Patent Institute?
Yes. In practise however, it is quite rear that the appeal board would come to a conclusion reversing the examiner’s decision.

Can a patent application be converted to an application for utility model?
Yes. The applicant may request that the subject matter of the application be protected by grant of utility model certificate provided that:

a) Where grant of a patent without examination is opted, such request may be filed until the expiry of the time-period allowed for submitting a response to the search report.
b) Where grant of a patent with examination is opted, such request may be filed until the expiry of the time-period for filing observations and objections in response against the substantive examination conducted by the Institute.

Is it mandatory to indicate the Number of an Application for Patent or of a Patent?
The person who wishes to enforce against third parties his rights originating from an application for patent or from a patent, is under the obligation to communicate to third parties in question, the number of the concerned application for patent or of the concerned patent.

In case where declarations appearing on a product, its labels or packagings or on promotional material or advertisements or printed matter under any form, give the impression that protection originating from an application for patent or a granted patent exists, the person making such declaration is under the obligation to indicate therein the number of the application for patent or the number of the patent.


What are the scope of rights conferred by a patent
The holder of a patent will benefit from the right it confers without differentiating between the place of the invention, its field of technology and whether the concerned products are imported or of domestic production.

The holder of a patent is entitled to prevent following actions by third parties performed without permission:

a) Production, sale, use, or importation of patented products or keeping them in possession for purposes other than for personal needs;
b) Use of a process that is the subject matter of the patent;
c) Offers made by third persons to others for the use of a patented process of which the use is known or should be known to be prohibited;
d) Putting to sale or making use or importing or keeping in possession for any such purpose other than for personal needs of products directly obtained through the patented process.

Can third parties use patent elements?
The right holder of a patent is entitled to prevent third parties, from handing over to persons unauthorized to work the patented invention, elements and means related to an essential part of the invention, subject matter of the patent, and rendering possible the implementation of the patented invention.

What are the limitations of rights conferred by a patent?
The following acts remain outside the scope of rights conferred by a patent :

a) Acts devoid of any industrial or commercial purpose and limited to private aims;
b) Acts involving, for experimental purposes, the invention, subject matter of a patent;
c) Extemporaneous preparations of medicines in pharmacies involving no mass production and carried out solely in making up a prescription and acts related to the medicines thus prepared;
d) Use of patented invention in the manufacture or operation of ships or spaceships or airplanes or land transportation vehicles of countries signatory of the Paris Convention or for satisfying the needs of these, provided that said vehicles happen to be, temporarily or accidentally, within the boundaries of the Republic of Turkey;

When patent rights are exhausted?
Rights conferred by a patent do not extend to acts committed with regard to a product under patent protection after said product has been put to sale in Turkey by the right holder of the patent or with his consent.

Would prior use confer any right?
The right holder of a patent do not have the right to prevent person(s) who, in good faith, between the date of filing of the application and the date of priority, had worked the invention in Turkey or had made serious and effective preparations to work the said invention; from continuing to work the subject matter of the patent, in the same manner as before, or from commencing its working as of the preparations made to this effect. However, third persons may continue working the subject matter of the patent, in the same manner as before, or commence its working as of the preparations made to this effect, only to the extent necessary for meeting the reasonable needs of their enterprise. Such right to work the invention can only be transferable with the enterprise.

How the scope of protection of a patent is interpreted?
The scope of protection conferred by a patent is determined according to the claim(s). Claims are interpreted in consideration of the description and drawings.

Claims are interpreted in such a manner so as to permit, on the one hand, a fair protection for the right holder of an application for patent or of a patent, while, on the other hand, providing a reasonable degree of certainty to third parties on the scope of protection.

Claims are interpreted as being confined to their strict literal wording. However, for determining the scope of protection of the subject application for patent or of the patent, where those characteristics, though contemplated by the inventor, are not expressed in the claim(s) and where such characteristics can be only revealed from an interpretation of the description and drawings by a person skilled in that technical field, the claim(s) are deemed to include/cover such characteristics.

Where a patent contains examples of the embodiment of the invention or examples of the functions or results of the invention, the claims can not be interpreted as being limited to those examples. In particular, the fact that a product or process includes additional features, not found in the examples, disclosed in the patent, lacks features expressed in such examples or does not achieve every objective or does not possess every characteristic expressed in such examples does remove the product or process from the extent of protection conferred by the claims.

Is doctrine of equivalence applicable?
Yes. At the time of an alleged infringement, in determining the scope of protection conferred by an application for patent or a patent, all elements being equivalent to the elements as expressed in the claim(s) are also considered.

Where, at the time when an alleged infringement is put forward, the equivalent element performs substantially the same function and performs such function in a substantially similar manner and gives the same result as the element as expressed in the claim(s), such element is, generally, deemed to be equivalent to the element as expressed in the claim(s).


Do prosecution history estoppel affect the scope of protection?
In determining the extent of protection, due account is taken of any statement made by the applicant during the patent granting procedure or by the holder of the patent during the term of validity of the patent.

What rights are conferred by process patents?
Where a product, for which there is a patent in respect of its manufacturing process, is imported into Turkey, the patentee will, in respect of the imported products, benefit from the same rights as those recognized to him for the manufacture of said product in Turkey.

Where a patent concerns a process for the manufacture of new products or substances, unless proof to the contrary, any product or substance having the same properties are deemed to have been obtained by using the patented process. The burden of proof lies with the persons claiming the contrary.

Can a patent be subject to a contractual license?
Yes. The right to work/use an application for patent or a patent may be the subject of a license agreement to have effect within the entirety of the national boundaries or in a part thereof. Licenses may be exclusive or non-exclusive.

The rights conferred by a patent or an application for patent may be exercised through a court action instituted by the patent right holder against the licensee who violates the terms of the license agreement, prescribed in paragraph one of this present Article.

Can a patentee offer for license?
Where the patentee makes no use of the patented invention, he may announce his willingness to authorize the use of the invention under license to any party, interested to put the invention to use.

Is it mandatory to use/work a patented invention?
Yes. The patentee or the person authorized by him is under obligation to put to use/work, the invention under patent protection. The obligation to put to use/work must be performed within three years as from the date of publication of the announcement related to the issue of the patent.

Market conditions are taken into consideration when/for assessing use/working.

Is evidence of use filed?
The patentee or the person authorized by him will prove his use of the invention by an official certificate to be filed before the Institute.

The certificate of use is issued at the conclusion of the inspection of the production in the industrial premises where the invention is being put to use/worked. The certificate of use should confirm the fact that the patented invention is being implemented or that the goods subject to the invention is offered for sale.

Can compulsory license be granted?
Compulsory license is granted where no offer for licensing has been made and where any one of the following conditions takes place:

1. Failure to put to use/work the patented invention;
2. Dependency of subject matter of patents;
3. On grounds of public interest;

Would exportation of goods be a ground for Compulsory license?
The exportation of the patented invention is not accepted to constitute a ground for compulsory license.

What is patent-of-addition?
The right holder of a patent or an application for a patent may apply for a patent-of-addition for protecting inventions, which improve or develop the invention, subject matter of the main patent.

Until the date when the decision to grant the patent is reached, applications may be filed for patent(s)-of-addition to an application for patent, even when the same is not accepted to issue as a patent.

Surpassing the state-of-the-art (involving inventive step) does not apply to patent(s)-of-addition.

What circumstances would lead to invalidity of a patent?
A patent is declared invalid by the court in following circumstances:

a) where evidence is brought in that the subject matter of the invention does not meet the patentability requirements i.e. novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability.
b) where evidence is brought in that the subject matter of the invention has not been described in a sufficiently explicit and comprehensive manner so as to enable a person skilled in the art to implement same;
c) where evidence is brought in that the subject matter of the patent is beyond the subject matter of the invention originaly filed;
d) where evidence is brought in that the holder of the patent does not have the right to a patent.

Where the grounds for invalidity concern, only, part of a patent, a partial invalidation of same is ruled by cancellation of the claim(s) pertaining to such part. An individual claim may not be partially invalidated.

What would be the effects of invalidity of a patent right?
A court decision ruling that the patent is invalid has a retroactive effect. Thus, within the context of invalidation, the legal protection secured for an application for patent is deemed not to have been borne at all.

The retroactive effects of invalidity, without prejudice to claims for compensation for damage caused by acts of bad faith on the part of the holder of the patent, do not extend to the following circumstances:

a) Any final decision for infringement of the patent reached and enforced prior to the decision of invalidity;
b) Contracts concluded and executed prior to the decision of invalidity. However, reimbursement, in whole or in part, of sums paid under the contract may be claimed on grounds of legitimate reasons and of equity to an extent justifiable by the circumstances.

A decision of invalidity having become res judicata produces effect against all.

What causes for termination of a patent right?
A patent right is terminated upon:

a) expiry of the term of protection;
b) surrender, by the holder of a patent, of the patent right;
c) non-payment of annuity fees.

The subject matter of a patent right having terminated becomes public property as from the date when the ground for termination materializes. Such circumstance is published, by the Institute, in the relevant bulletin.

Can a patent right, having been invalidated due to non-payment, be revalidated?
Where a patent right terminates for non-payment of annuity fee; with the holder of the patent bringing evidence of force majeure for reasons of which the said fee could not be paid, the patent is revalidated.

What acts do constitute infringement of a patent rights?
The following acts are considered infringement of a patent right:

a) Imitating; by producing in whole or in part of a product, subject to the invention, without the consent of the patent holder;
b) Selling, distributing or commercializing in any other way, or importing for such purposes of products or keeping them in possession for commercial purposes or using by applying such products, manufactured as a result of an infringement, where the person concerned is aware or should be aware that such products are imitations in whole or, in part;
c) Using the patented process or selling, distributing or commercializing in any other way or importing for such purposes or using by applying the products directly obtained through such patented process; without the consent of the patent holder;
d) Extending the scope of the rights granted by the patent holder on the basis of a contractual license or granted by compulsory license or transferring such rights to third persons, without permission;
e) Participating in the foregoing acts, or assisting or inducing/encouraging them or facilitating, in any way and under any circumstances, their occurrence/perpetration;
f) Refraining from declaring the source from where and the manner how the products, found in possession and manufactured or commercialized, unlawfully, were obtained.

Where the patent is obtained for a process for the production/preparation of a product, all products, possessing the same properties, are deemed to have been produced/manufactured by the patented process. The defendant claiming that the manufactured/produced the product without infringing the patented process will have the burden of proving such claim.

Where the application for patent is published, the applicant is entitled to institute before the courts, civil and criminal, proceedings, on grounds of infringement of the invention. Where the infringer is notified of the existence of the application or of its scope, the application need not to have been published. Where the court rules that the infringer is in bad faith, the infringement is deemed to have existed even prior to the publication.

What can a patent holder claim from the competent court?
A proprietor of a patent whose rights are infringed may, in particular, claim:

a) for the cessation of the acts in infringement of right conferred by a patent,
b) for remedies of infringement and request for compensation of material and moral damages/prejudices incurred,
c) request the confiscation of products manufactured or imported, in infringement of rights conferred by a patent, of means directly used in manufacturing such products and of means permitting the use of a patented process,
d) for the proprietorship over the products and means confiscated. In such case, the value of said products are deducted from the amount of compensation awarded. Where the value of said products happen to be above the amount of compensation awarded, the proprietor of the patent repays the excedentary balance to other party.
e) for precautionary measures for preventing the continued infringement of rights, conferred by a patent, especially modifying the shapes of the products and means, or, where inevitable for the preclusion of acts of infringement, the destruction of the products and means confiscated.
f) request the disclosure by means of publication, to the public and to those related, of the court’s judgment rendered against the party infringing the rights conferred by a patent who will bear the costs for such publication.

The competent court, for the institution of legal proceedings, by the proprietor of a patent against third parties, is the court of the domicile of the plaintiff or of the place where the offence was committed or of the place where the act of infringement produced effect.

Where the plaintiff is not domiciled in Turkey, the competent court is the court of the location of the business premises of the empowered registered agent and when the agent’s entry in the register has been canceled, the court where the headquarters of the Institute are located.

The Competent Court, for the institution of proceedings by third parties against the applicant or the proprietor of a patent, is the court of domicile of the defendant.

Can a third party claim of non-infringement of a patent?
Any interested person may institute proceedings against the proprietor of a patent to obtain a judgment of non-infringement of rights conferred by the patent.

Prior to the institution of proceedings, a notice is served through the notary public to the attention of the proprietor of the patent, to enable, the patent right holder, to express his observations on whether industrial/manufacturing activity engaged in Turkey or the serious and effective preparations made for such purpose, by the requesting party constitute infringement of the rights conferred by the patent.


Persons, against whom action of infringement has been instituted in respect of the patent right, cannot institute proceedings according to paragraph one of this present Article.

Are interlocutory measures available?
Persons who are to institute or who have instituted proceedings, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the principal action, may request an interlocutory injunction from the court provided that they bring evidence as to the existence of acts of actual use in Turkey of the patent or serious and effective preparations to use the patent against which the action is instituted, which would constitute an infringement of the plaintiff’s patent right.

The request for precautionary measures may be filed before or with the institution of proceedings or filed later. The request for precautionary measures is examined separately from the principal action.

What is the nature of precautionary measures?
Precautionary measures is in nature to enable of securing fully the effectiveness of the judgment and particularly provide the following measures:

a) cessation of the acts infringing the patent rights of the plaintiff;
b) injunction to seize within the borders of Turkey, wherever they are found including the customs or free trade zones and keep in custody the goods produced or imported in infringement of rights conferred by the patent or means used in implementing the patented process,
c) ordering the placement of security/guarantee for damages to be compensated.


What are the criteria for having a utility model protection?
Inventions which are novel and applicable in industry are protected by grant of utility model certificate.

Can every subject matter be protected by utility model?
No Utility Model Certificate is granted for subject matters for processes and products obtained by such processes and for chemical products in addition to non-patentable subject matters.

Is a utility model application substantively searched/examined?
No. Only formal examination is performed. Where the examination of the Institute shows that the application suffers formal deficiencies or that the subject matter of the application does not possess the characteristics permitting the grant of utility model certificate, the procedure is suspended.

Can a utility model application be opposed?
Yes. Within three months following the publication of the application, any person may oppose the application for the grant of the utility model certificate by giving the motives/grounds therefor.

The applicant may request to have a utility model certificate without taking into consideration the objections raised by third parties

What circumstances would lead to invalidity of a utility model?
The invalidity of the Utility Model Certificate is decided by the competent court under to the following circumstances:

a) where evidence is brought in that the subject matter of the utility model certificate is not novel and industrially applicable.
b) where evidence is brought in that the invention, subject matter of the utility model certificate, has not been described in a sufficiently explicit and comprehensive manner so as to enable its implementation by a person skilled in the art;
c) where evidence is brought in that the subject matter of the utility model certificate is beyond the scope of the originally filed application
d) where evidence is brought in that the holder of the utility model certificate does not have the right to a Utility Model Certificate.

Can a subject matter be registered by both utility model and an industrial design?

Yes. The subject matter of a utility model Certificate may also be registered as an industrial design.

Is double protection available?
A Letter's Patent and a Utility Model Certificate can not be concurrently granted for an invention involving the same subject matter.