On 30 September 2019, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office
published The New Trademark Examination Guideline that defines the
criteria regarding the examination of trade mark applications on
absolute grounds within the scope of the Industrial Property Code
that came into force in 2017.
The main purpose of the Guideline is to update the previous
guideline which was in force since 2011, clarify the principles of
absolute grounds for refusal that are explained in the IP Code and
provide consistency in the Office's decisions.
Within this context, the absolute grounds for refusal that are
included between the articles 5(1)(a) and 5(1)(i) of the Law are
examined in 12 main sections. The Guideline consists of 379 pages
and includes a great number of examples in detail. The examples are
given by taking the decisions of the Courts and the Office and also
the recent EU developments into consideration.
