Absolute Grounds For Refusal In Trademark Registration

According to Article 16 of Industrial Property Code ("IPC") numbered 6769, which was entered into force on January 10, 2017, when the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office ("Office") decides that an application has no formal deficiencies, it will examine the application in accordance with Article 5 of the IPC with the title, 'Absolute grounds for refusal in trademark registration'.

While trademark applications are examined by the Office ex officio in terms of the absolute grounds for refusal, third parties may also claim that there has been a violation of the absolute grounds for refusal during the objection process to the publication of the application. The Office published the 'Trademark Examination Guideline' on September 30, 2019, and defined the examination principles related to absolute grounds for refusal.