Deris Patents and Trademarks Agency provides consultancy with regard to the registerability of trademarks in Turkey in the sense of the related Articles of the Decree Law no.556. such as the similarity of trademarks, distinctiveness and descriptiveness. Preliminary identical or similarity searches, availability and status check searches, as well as proprietor name searches for trademarks are conducted either in the on-line database of the Turkish Patent Institute or official trademark searches are requested from the Institute. Both searches cover all pending or registered trademarks and provide updated information on the status of trademarks, with the exception of new applications or requests filed within the last four to six weeks.
Deris Trademark Attorneys provides the clients with the reporting of updated information as to the registerability of trademarks and consultancy as to the probable conflicts during the publication proceedings of trademarks in Turkey.
Figurative trademark searches, company name searches and domain name searches are also conducted in the respective databases. The timeframe of a trademark search is four to seven business days and two to four days for urgent requests. You may send us your instructions on-line via our website www.deris.com.tr and receive a 5 % rebate on our service fees.
With the aim of filing oppositions, watching services as well as publication watch services can be provided on a monthly or yearly basis. Watching services of new trademark applications in specific classes or sectors are also provided in accordance with the client’s special needs and instructions.
Deris Patents and Trademarks Agency files the trademark applications within one to two business days. Upon receipt of instructions on any matter, Deris Trademark Prosecution team conducts conflict of interest searches in our database to determine any potential conflict beforehand. In the event that we discover we do represent identical or indistinguishably identical trademarks, we will refrain from accepting new instructions. The same procedure is applied to instructions for oppositions and provisional refusals of international trademarks in Turkey.
Thanks to our prosecution / search team’s in depth approach, 70% of the trademark applications filed in 2007 have matured into registration in Turkey.
We also represent our clients in the preparation and submission of objections to provisional refusals of international trademarks under the Madrid Protocol, entering the national phase in Turkey.
Our office provides strategic and consultative administrative procedure management for securing registrations in other countries. This is achieved by working through our network correspondents as well as directly with international authorities such as WIPO, OHIM and in collaboration with our allied office, Sedin S.A.
Currently, Sedin S.A. acts as the international platform of our firm and handles all IP Matters outside of Turkey for our clients. According to a mutual agreement, Deris assigns to Sedin work received from its Turkish clients involving all IP matters, including opposition to be filed and prosecuted in Switzerland and any other country of interest. In return, Sedin assigns to Deris work received from its clients worldwide involving all IP matters, including opposition and litigation to be filed and prosecuted in Turkey and in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (T.R.N.C.).
Deris Patents and Trademarks Agency provides services related to the changes in the trademarks. Changes such as change of name, change of legal form and change of address of the trademark owner/applicant are automatically recorded on all national and international trademarks, upon filing either with the Turkish Patent Institute or WIPO. We provide services with respect to the correction and completion of recordals filed before WIPO and where clients have received Declarations that the recordal has no effect in Turkey.
The recordal of such changes is not mandatory however the rights conferred by such changes can not be invoked against third parties in good faith unless and until they are duly recorded in the Trademark Register in Turkey.
Trademark assignments and mergers need to be recorded on identical and nearly identical trademarks, covering identical or similar goods, in the name of the same owner/applicant. It is important to note that all recordals are affected with original or certified copies of Certificates or company extracts, Deeds and Agreements. Any kind of printouts of websites or simple photocopies may not be used for recordal purposes.
We do review and provide opinion on agreements and also prepare draft license agreements, upon request, in view of respective provisions of “Turkish Obligations Code”, the Act on “Protection of the Competition”, Decree-Law No. 556 pertaining to the protection of trademarks as well as the “Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works” (Copyright Act).
For recordal purposes before the Turkish Patent Institute, we do advise to prepare short form agreements, which need to comprise specific Articles with respect to “royalty”, “exclusivity”, “term” as well as “trademark name and registration number(s)”.
Renewals of trademarks are tracked by our integrally computerized tracking system. Clients receive renewal reminders via e-mail and mail three times: six months prior to the renewal due date, one month prior to the renewal due date and one month prior to the expiration of the grace period.
We do receive renewal instructions via our website at www.deris.com.tr. Through the online reporting tool, clients can create a Renewal Instruction list for all trademarks due for a period determined by the client and send instructions on-line. Clients will receive a 5 to 10 % rebate on our service fees for using the online tool. Online renewal instructions are immediately recorded in our real files and the trademark is noted in our payment lists for the respective month, without delay.
We also apply special reduced prices to clients who prefer an advance payment option, which may be selected when sending instructions on-line.
Decree Law No. 556 provides pre-grant oppositions and observation proceedings, according to which third parties can submit oppositions against national as well as international trademark applications in Turkey. This designates Turkey, during the three months publication period in the monthly Official Trademark Bulletin. The oppositions are evaluated on the basis of “Relative Grounds of Refusal” of Article 8. Article 34 of Decree Law also allows the submission of “Observations” by third parties in Turkey.
Deris Patents and Trademarks Agency assists their clients for the filing of oppositions and observations before the Turkish Patent Institute against third party trademark applications in Turkey. Our team handles the domain name oppositions before METU as well.
Our service fee covers up to two hours of time spent on preparing the petition of opposition. Any additional time spent for the opposition is charged on an hourly basis.