April 4, 2002

By Okan Can, Attorney At Law

Turkish Patent Institute Has Adapted The Amendments In The International Classification of Goods And Services Of Trademark

With the publication in the Official Gazette No. 24627 dated December 31, 2001, the Turkish Patent Institute reflected the amendments of the International Classification of Goods and Services, to the National Classification of Goods and Services. Accordingly, services are now classified in Classes 35 to 45 as in the International Classification. It is important to note that according to the National Classification prepared on the basis of the International Classification, goods and services are classified under several sub-classes of each main class and that the similarity between goods and services are assessed on the basis of sub-classes that the goods/services in question are belonging to. Basically those goods/services classified under the same sub-class are evaluated as being of the same type in the sense of the provisions of Article 7 (Absolute Grounds for Refusal) and Article 8 (Relative Grounds for Refusal) of the Decree-Law No. 556 on the Protection of Trade and Service Marks.