Frequently Asked Questions

In order to participate in the patent and trademark attorney qualification exams, the following conditions must be met.

1. To be a citizen of the Republic of Türkiye. (Requirement to take the exam)
2. Having legal capacity. (Requirement for taking the exam)
3. To be a graduate of a higher education institution that provides at least a four-year undergraduate education or a higher education institution abroad whose equivalence is accepted by the authorized authorities. (Requirement to take the exam)
4. Not having been convicted of disgraceful crimes. (Requirement for taking the exam)
5. Having a place of residence in Turkey. (Requirement for registration)
6. To be successful in the exam. (Requirement for registration)
7. To be registered in the registry. (Requirement for registry)

While the Patent and Trademark Attorney Proficiency Exams were previously held in two stages, the exam was reduced to a single exam with the Regulation amendment in 2023. The Patent Attorney and Trademark Attorney Exams are held separately, usually every two years, in October or November in odd years.

Information regarding Exams and Registry Procedures is available on the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office website (www.turkpatent.gov.tr)

The basic elements required for the effective protection of industrial property rights in a country are as follows.

• An effective and strong Public Institution
• Legislation consisting of laws and international agreements that comply with international standards,
• Patent and trademark attorneys who have been granted legal status and are subject to inspection,
• Specialized courts (Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights Civil and Criminal Courts).

The absence or inadequacy of functioning of any of these elements will cause the industrial property system in that country to fail or even collapse.

Although the basic elements of the industrial property system listed above have been put into practice to a great extent in Turkey today; it is a major deficiency that patent and trademark attorneys in particular have not been able to become institutionalized in a union structure such as bar associations. Legal regulations regarding the discipline of attorneys were put into practice with Law No. 6769.

Patent and trademark attorneys, one of the elements of the infrastructure of the industrial property system, and applicants who want to obtain patent, utility model, trademark, design, geographical indication, traditional product names and integrated circuit topography rights can apply directly to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, or they can assign a patent or trademark attorney to carry out these transactions and prevent any loss of rights. We can compare Patent and Trademark Attorneyship to customs consultants authorized to carry out transactions at customs or to the assignment of lawyers by plaintiffs or defendants in courts.

Patent Attorneys are persons authorized to represent applicants before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office for transactions regarding patents, utility models, designs and integrated circuit topographies, to provide consultancy and to take necessary initiatives and carry out transactions for the protection of industrial property rights.

Trademark Attorneys are persons who have the authority to represent applicants in the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office regarding trademarks, geographical indications, traditional product names and designs, to provide consultancy and to take the necessary initiatives and carry out the transactions for the protection of industrial property rights.

Attorneys are also responsible for establishing and protecting the rights of the relevant persons before the Institution and ensuring and carrying out all kinds of relations with the administration regarding them.

While applicants residing in Turkey are not required to appoint an attorney, foreigners who will apply to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office are required to appoint an attorney. This obligation is required by the Paris Convention.

The legislation established for patent and trademark attorneys in Turkey and the powers and responsibilities related to the legal status introduced mean that the applications and objections made to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office are filtered, facilitating the processes of both the applicants and the Office.

In order to effectively protect industrial property rights and to ensure that our industrialists, individuals and organizations engaged in trade and citizens conducting research and development studies benefit from these rights as required, some details about the agency institution, which is very important, need to be known. Because it is observed that some people misrepresent the agency system, the powers and duties of the agents are not well understood and the responsibilities of the agents are not known at all. There are complaints about this issue from both the experts of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office and many industrialists, agents, lawyers and judges who are related to the subject. In order for the system to be established and developed, the powers and responsibilities of the agents need to be well known by everyone.

The most important problem regarding Patent and Trademark Attorneyship in Turkey today is the lack of an institutional structure in the form of a Union or Chamber. Although the disciplinary provisions regarding attorneys were put into practice with the SMK No. 6769; sanctions against non-attorneys providing services as if they were attorneys are insufficient today. This is an important deficiency on the agenda.

It is a clear provision of the legislation that Patent and Trademark Attorneys must be registered in the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office attorney registry and that persons who are not registered in this registry cannot act as attorneys. It is also extremely wrong for persons who are not registered in the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office attorney registry to provide consultancy services in this regard. It is important for applicants to ask for the attorney document from persons who want to provide them with consultancy services on industrial rights, and furthermore, to check on the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office website whether the person who wants to provide them with services is an attorney and the validity of the attorney document.

It should not be understood that all registered attorneys can follow all kinds of transactions with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. Because there are two separate attorneyships such as patent and trademark attorneyship. For this reason, it is not possible for only those registered in the trademark attorney registry to carry out transactions related to patent applications, and only attorneys registered in the patent registry to carry out trademark transactions. However, registered trademark or patent attorneys can serve as design attorneys.

Patent Attorneys are persons authorized to represent applicants before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office for transactions regarding patents, utility models, designs and integrated circuit topographies, to provide consultancy and to take necessary initiatives and carry out transactions for the protection of industrial property rights.

Trademark Attorneys are persons who have the authority to represent applicants in the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office regarding trademarks, geographical indications, traditional product names and designs, to provide consultancy and to take the necessary initiatives and carry out the transactions for the protection of industrial property rights.

Patent and Trademark Attorneys;

He is only authorized to act on behalf of his clients before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

• They have no authority before the judicial bodies (except for the Deputies who are lawyers).
• They do not have the authority to register trademarks/patents etc. and issue documents.
• They do not act on behalf of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
• They are not members of staff, personnel or employees of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

• As a rule, Turkish citizens and persons residing in Turkey are not required to appoint a representative for transactions at the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
• Relevant persons can also directly carry out their transactions with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
• If the legal entities that will apply/object to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office follow up the procedures themselves without appointing a representative, these procedures can only be carried out by a person or persons authorized by the authorized bodies.
• Persons residing abroad (even if they are Turkish citizens) can only be represented by Proxies.

• Patent and Trademark Attorneys;
  • It is responsible for ensuring, establishing and carrying out all kinds of relations with the Institution in order to establish and protect the rights of applicants and objectors before the Institution.
  • They should know that they are obliged to ensure regular communication between the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office and the applicants while the procedures are ongoing, otherwise they will be held responsible for any loss of rights that may arise. Attorneys are obliged to inform their clients of every decision, notification, next process series, possible situations and costs to be received from the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
  • To protect the interests of the clients they represent and
  • Must act in accordance with the ethical rules of the profession.

• Attorneys should not make promises or commitments to their clients about anything that cannot be fulfilled or is impossible to achieve.
• He/she must carefully examine the correspondence at every stage of the process, starting from the application, and inform his/her client as soon as possible.
• The necessary warnings must be made in a timely manner so that the client can adequately prepare the information and documents requested by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
• He/she must be aware that he/she is responsible for showing the necessary sensitivity and assistance in the transactions or in the information and documents to be completed. Patent and Trademark Attorneys Professional rules of Patent and Trademark Attorneys and disciplinary penalties to be given to those who act contrary to the rules are included in the TURKISH PATENT AND TRADEMARK AGENCY PROFESSIONAL RULES AND DISCIPLINE REGULATIONS.

Attorneys are responsible for any errors and consequences that may arise from their own negligence in relation to the work they carry out within the scope of the authority they have received. For this reason, attorneys are required to have professional liability insurance. However, the disciplinary provisions applied to lawyers by Bar Associations do not apply to attorneys due to the lack of legislation. Attorneys do not have a structure like bar associations. This deficiency is attempted to be eliminated superficially by professional associations.

For the Turkish Industrial Property System to function effectively, it is essential that the agency institution is well developed and functions well.

When companies want to work with a trademark or patent attorney while registering their industrial rights such as trademarks or patents, the most important thing to consider when choosing an attorney is to investigate whether the person they choose as an attorney is registered in the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office Attorney Registry and is an active attorney. Just as you cannot leave a car you own to a person who does not have a driver’s license, you cannot leave yourself to the treatment of a person who is not a doctor in a health-related matter, and you cannot get support from a person who is not a lawyer in a legal matter; you cannot also leave any of your brands, inventions, or designs to a person who does not have an attorney certificate. You cannot trust the consultancy of a person who is not an attorney in this matter.

In recent years, there have been significant increases in the number of trademark, patent and utility model applications in Turkey. However, it is not possible to say that a sufficient level of awareness has been reached in Turkey regarding rights such as trademark, patent, utility model etc. by looking at these increases. There is still a long way to go. In order to develop awareness, it is essential to institutionalize the Patent and Trademark Attorneyship institution and to prevent persons who do not have patent and trademark attorney authority from providing services in this field. Statistical data show that while the number of industrial rights registration applications increases, the number of qualified attorneys who are competent and have professional responsibility to provide attorney services within the scope of this increase should also increase.

PATENT AND TRADEMARK AGENTS ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS