Trademark Revocations Redefined: A New Chapter In Turkish IP Law

Requests regarding revocation of trademarks were under the discretion of Turkish IP Courts before January 10, 2024 which was the end of the 7 year transition period set by the Turkish IP Law. However, revocation proceedings recently became the jurisdiction of Turkish Patent and Trademark Office ("TPTO"), despite the fact that EU Directive 2015/2436 ("Directive") provides for both the Courts and Offices having this authority.

With this article, revocation and cancellation proceedings in Türkiye will be explored in light of both recent Turkish changes and European practice.

Revocation v. Invalidity

Before exploring recent revocation changes in Turkish practice, it is important to revisit the difference between revocation versus invalidity actions. Indeed, while the recent changes mostly mentioned as relating to "revocation" actions in general for ease of reference, there exists a difference and not all actions against trademarks become TPTO's jurisdiction.