New Tools For TMS

Turkey's Industrial Property Code No. 6769 (IPC) came into force on 10th January 2017 and brought in a number of new rules, with the major amendments relating to:

• letters of consent;
• non-use defence in opposition and litigation proceedings; and
• time limits for cancellation actions.

Importantly, the IPC introduces the principle of coexistence into Turkish trade mark law. Accordingly, letters of consent from the senior trade mark owner or trade mark application owner have become a new tool in overcoming the citations of earlier, senior and identical, or indistinguishably similar, trade marks by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office as an ex officio refusal ground.

NON-USE DEFENCE