Priority Right and Its Effects in Turkish Trademark Law

Article 12 and 13 of Turkish Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (IPL) establish provisions regarding priority right claims and their implications in Turkish trademark law.

According to the relevant IPL provisions, there are two distinct bases for priority right claims in Turkish trademark law:

1. Priority right claims based on trademark applications filed in other jurisdictions.

2. Priority right claims based on public displays at national or international exhibitions.

IPL Article 12/1 outlines the scope of priority right claims based on trademark applications filed in other jurisdictions. Article 12/1 provides that, "Natural or legal entities or their successors in title who are nationals of one of the states party to the Paris Convention or the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, or those who are domiciled or engaged in active commercial activities therein, even if they are not nationals, are entitled to a priority right in Turkey within six months following the date of their duly filed trademark application for identical trademarks and identical goods or services with competent authorities in one of those states, within the framework of the Paris Convention provisions. Priority rights not exercised within this period shall be forfeited. It is mandatory to obtain a priority right document from the competent authority of the state where the initial application was filed to enjoy the priority right."

The third paragraph of Article 12 delineates the scope of priority rights based on public displays at exhibitions. According to this provision, "Natural or legal entities as described in Article 3, who exhibit goods or services under the trademark for which the trademark is sought at national or international exhibitions in Turkey or at official or officially recognized exhibitions in countries party to the Paris Convention or the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and who present a certified reproduction of the trademark, are entitled to a priority right when applying for the registration of the identical trademark in Turkey within six months following the exhibition."

To benefit from the priority right, the applicant must assert the claim during the trademark application. The Turkish Trademark and Patent Office cannot evaluate the priority right without the applicant's request. Priority rights not claimed in accordance with the prescribed legal process cannot be subsequently asserted and are forfeited.

To successfully assert a priority right, the applicant must obtain a priority certificate from the relevant authorities and submit it to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. IPL Article 13 explicitly states that the applicant must submit the certificate within three months from the application date. Failure to do so will result in the priority right request being deemed not made.

In cases where multiple priority rights are claimed for a trademark application at once, IPL Article 13's fourth paragraph establishes that the priority right commences from the date of the first valid priority right.

The sign subject to the trademark application and the sign forming the basis of the priority claim must be identical or indistinguishably similar in order for the applicant to successfully assert a priority right. Priority right claims cannot be based on signs that are merely similar but distinguishable from each other. Small differences between two signs are deemed acceptable in this context.

Finally, IPL Article 12, paragraph 6 on the effects of a successful priority right claim states that if an application is submitted on the basis of a priority right, applications filed by third parties after the priority date that cover identical or indistinguishably similar trademarks with identical or similar goods or services shall be rejected by the Office.