Deadlines in trademark protection are short, and most cannot be recovered once missed. In Türkiye, an opposition to a bulletin publication must be filed within two months, an appeal against an Office decision within two months of notification, and a criminal complaint within six months of learning of the act and the offender. A compensation claim is time-barred two years after the damage and the liable person become known. A registration protects for ten years from the application date and is renewed in the last six months. The calendar below is based on Industrial Property Law No. 6769 and on the Turkish Criminal Code, the Code of Obligations, the Customs Law and Laws No. 6563 and 5651.
Periods before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office
| Step | Period | Starts from | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third-party observations | Until registration | Publication of the application | Art. 17(1) |
| Opposition to the publication of an application | Two months; grounds and fee within the same period | Publication in the Official Trademark Bulletin | Art. 18(1), 18(2) |
| Appeal against Office decisions | Two months; grounds and fee within the same period | Notification of the decision | Art. 20(2) |
| Office procedures with no specific period | Two months | Notification | Art. 146(1) |
| Electronic notification deemed served | First login to the mailbox, at the latest the end of the tenth day | Document placed in the mailbox | Art. 160(6) |
| Notification by publication in the bulletin | Deemed served seven days later | Publication of the bulletin | Art. 160(7) |
| Owner's response to a revocation request | One month; up to one more month on request | Notification of the request | Art. 26(7) |
Two points need attention. Under Article 18(2), if the grounds of an opposition are not submitted within the period, the opposition is deemed not to have been made; filing a bare petition is not enough. Under Article 160(3), persons resident abroad can act before the Office only through a trademark or patent attorney.
Under Article 156(2), the competent court for actions against Office decisions is the Ankara Intellectual and Industrial Property Civil Court. Confirm the time limit for bringing such an action with your trademark attorney.
Protection, renewal and use periods
| Subject | Period | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Term of a registration | Ten years from the application date; renewed for ten-year periods | Art. 23(1) |
| Renewal request | The six months before expiry | Art. 23(2) |
| Late renewal | The six months after expiry, with an extra fee | Art. 23(2) |
| Effect of renewal | From the day after the previous term ends | Art. 23(5) |
| Risk of revocation for non-use | No genuine use within five years of registration, or use suspended for five uninterrupted years | Art. 9(1) |
| Use just before a revocation request | Use started in anticipation of the request within the three months before it is disregarded | Art. 26(4) |
| Proof of use in an opposition | If the earlier mark has been registered for at least five years, on the applicant's request | Art. 19(2) |
| Acquiescence in invalidity | A trademark owner who stayed silent for five consecutive years about the later mark's use cannot rely on its mark as a ground for invalidity unless the later registration was made in bad faith | Art. 25(6) |
Renewal is the deadline most likely to be missed, because nothing has to be done for ten years. If the extra six months with a fee also pass, protection ends.
Periods for civil and criminal action against infringement
| Route | Period | Starts from | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complaint for the trademark infringement offence | Six months | Learning of the act and the offender | Art. 30(6), Criminal Code Art. 73(1)-(2) |
| Limitation of compensation claims | Two years; in any case ten years | Learning of the damage and the liable person; the act | Art. 157, Code of Obligations Art. 72 |
| Request to publish the final judgment | Three months | The judgment becoming final | Art. 149(3) |
| Damages for acts after bulletin publication | A decision can be given once the registration is published | Publication of the application in the bulletin | Art. 7(4) |
Under Article 30(6), the investigation and prosecution of trademark infringement offences depend on a complaint. Under Article 73 of the Criminal Code, if no complaint is filed within six months of learning of the act and the offender, no investigation or prosecution can take place. The criminal route requires the mark to be registered in Türkiye (Art. 30(5)). Under Article 72 of the Code of Obligations, if compensation arises from an offence for which criminal law sets a longer limitation period, that period applies.
For commercial cases involving a claim for money, applying to a mediator before going to court is a precondition under Article 5/A of Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102. We cover these routes and the penalty table in what is the penalty for selling counterfeit goods.
Periods at customs
| Stage | Period | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Ex officio detention by customs where there is clear evidence | Three working days | Customs Law Art. 57(1)(b) |
| Obtaining a preliminary injunction after the detention decision, perishable goods | Three working days | Customs Law Art. 57(3) |
| Same, other goods | Ten working days | Customs Law Art. 57(3) |
| Extra time on a justified excuse | Up to ten working days | Customs Law Art. 57(3) |
The periods start from notification of the detention decision to the right holder. If no preliminary injunction is obtained within that time, the goods are processed under the customs procedure the declarant requested. Travellers' personal goods are outside this provision. Customs can also allow simplified destruction without waiting for a court finding (57(6)). The conditions for a preliminary injunction are in Article 159 of the Industrial Property Law.
Periods on marketplaces and social media
Marketplaces. Article 9(3) of Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce sets out the complaint, removal and objection route but sets no hour limits: the marketplace removes the product on a complaint based on information and documents, republishes it on the seller's documented objection, and the parties' recourse to the courts is reserved.
For Articles 12 to 14 of the 2022 regulation, which set hour limits for removal and republication, the 10th Chamber of the Council of State (Danıştay) issued a stay of execution in May 2023. As of November 2026 we have found no published information that the stay has been lifted. The hours in the regulation should therefore not be treated as periods in force. Some platforms state periods on their own pages; Hepsiburada's application process page, for example, says that on a complaint made in due form the product is removed within forty-eight hours at most, and on a justified objection it is republished within twenty-four hours at the latest. These periods are statements on the platform's own page; read them as the platform's statement, not as a legal requirement.
Social networks. Under paragraph 3 of Additional Article 4 of Law No. 5651, social network providers with more than one million daily accesses from Türkiye must give a positive or negative answer to applications by individuals within forty-eight hours of the application at the latest; negative answers must give reasons. This is a response period; it does not mean the content will be removed. Your lawyer assesses whether a trademark complaint counts as an application under this paragraph.
We collect the platforms' channels in marketplace IP complaint channels.
How should the calendar be kept?
- For each registration, record the application date, the date the renewal window opens and the date the extra-fee period ends.
- For each Office notification, note the date of service and the last day of the two-month period. For electronic notification, take the tenth-day rule into account.
- For each infringement finding, keep the first seen date and the date the offender became known separately, because the six months for a criminal complaint and the two years for compensation start from these dates.
- Count customs detention notices in working days, and set up a channel through which your lawyer can be reached immediately for them.
- Archive evidence of use every year; this archive is needed for five-year non-use and proof-of-use requests.
How does Authex support these deadlines?
Authex records each finding with its first and last seen dates and flags recurring findings. The evidence file contains the source link, date and time of capture and screenshot; a SHA-256 digest of the files is kept. These dates can go into the lawyer's file to document when the periods for a criminal complaint and compensation started. Authex also lists records at trademark offices that resemble your mark; the decision to oppose and the opposition itself belong to your trademark attorney.
The decision to send a complaint and the sending belong to the brand team or its lawyer; the platform decides on removal and the lawyer handles legal proceedings. The scope is on the trademark and patent monitoring page.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if the bulletin opposition deadline is missed?
If the two-month period in Article 18 is missed, the opposition route closes. Once the mark is registered, invalidation can be sought from the court under Article 25 if the conditions are met.
I forgot to renew my trademark. What can I do?
Under Article 23(2), renewal can be made with an extra fee within six months from the date protection expired.
When does the complaint period start against a seller of counterfeits?
Under Article 73 of the Criminal Code, the six-month period starts on the day you learn of the act and who the offender is. Record the date the infringement was first seen and the date the seller's identity became known separately.
How many hours does a marketplace have to resolve my complaint?
Law No. 6563 sets no hour limits. The periods in the regulation have been stayed by the Council of State (Danıştay). The periods written on platforms' own pages are the platform's practice.
This article is for general information and is not a legal opinion. How periods are calculated can vary with the facts; consult your trademark attorney or lawyer.
Sources
- Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (Articles 7, 9, 17-20, 23, 25, 26, 30, 146, 149, 156, 157, 159, 160), in Turkish
- TÜRKPATENT, text of Industrial Property Law No. 6769, in Turkish
- Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237 (Article 73), in Turkish
- Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 (Article 72), in Turkish
- Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (Article 5/A), in Turkish
- Customs Law No. 4458 (Article 57), in Turkish
- Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce (Article 9), in Turkish
- Webrazzi, articles of the e-commerce regulation stayed by the Council of State, 10 May 2023, in Turkish
- Hepsiburada, application process for IP infringements, in Turkish
- Law No. 5651 (Additional Article 4), in Turkish
