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CategoryTrademark
Published28 August 2026
Authors
Uğurcan TekinPartner
Beyza ErdemirAttorney at Law

Protection of Well-Known Trademarks in Türkiye: When Does Protection Cross Class Boundaries?

The natural limit of trademark protection is the list of goods and services in the registration. Using a similar sign on dissimilar goods and services is, as a rule, free. Some marks, however, stand as exceptions to that rule by virtue of the recognition they have achieved in the market. The Industrial Property Code No. 6769 attaches consequences to reputation through two separate provisions, and confusing the two is among the most frequent errors in practice.

The first mechanism is found in Article 6/4 of the Code. Marks that are well known within the meaning of Article 6bis of the Paris Convention constitute a ground of opposition against later applications for identical or similar goods and services, even where they are not registered in Türkiye. This provision is the domestic reflection of the minimum international protection granted to foreign proprietors who hold no Turkish registration.

Reputation can open up a zone of protection for the mark that crosses class boundaries.

Beyond-Class Protection: Three Alternative Conditions

The second and stronger mechanism sits in Article 6/5 of the Code. A sign identical or similar to a mark registered in Türkiye that has achieved a level of reputation in society cannot be registered even for different goods and services. This requires, however, that at least one of three alternative conditions be met: the later application must be liable to take unfair advantage of the reputation of the mark, to damage its repute, or to harm its distinctive character. Any one of the three suffices; all three need not be present together.

Unfair advantage means the later user drawing on the pulling power, advertising value and prestige of the well-known mark for its own benefit. Damage to repute is the risk of the mark becoming associated with poor-quality goods or with goods and services incompatible with its image. Harm to distinctive character, also known as dilution, is the erosion of the mark's uniqueness in the market through similar uses across different sectors.

“Well-known mark protection protects not the mark itself, but the association the mark has created in the market.”

How Is Reputation Proven?

Reputation is not a legal status but a factual state that must be proven afresh in every dispute. In practice, the assessment takes into account the duration and intensity of use, geographical spread, market share, advertising and promotion investment, registration and enforcement records, and consumer surveys. The more concrete and dateable the evidence file, the stronger the claim. Files that rest on abstract assertions, or solely on data about the company's own size, do not clear the reputation threshold.

Opposition or Court Action?

Reputation-based protection is exercised most economically at the opposition stage. In a portfolio under bulletin watch, applications apt to take unfair advantage of the well-known mark are caught within the two-month opposition period and can be stopped administratively. Where the opposition stage has been missed, an invalidity action against the registered mark comes into play. On either route, it must be demonstrated concretely which of the three alternative conditions is met in the case at hand.

Key Principles

  • Marks well known within the meaning of the Paris Convention are protected for identical or similar goods and services even without a Turkish registration.
  • Marks registered in Türkiye that have achieved a level of reputation are protected even for different goods and services where one of three alternative conditions is met.
  • Unfair advantage, damage to repute and harm to distinctive character are alternatives; one suffices.
  • Reputation must be proven with evidence afresh in every dispute.
  • The most economical protection is bulletin watch and a timely opposition.

Devin Patent provides attorney services for reputation-based oppositions and trademark watch. Invalidity and infringement actions based on reputation are handled by our partner firm, Devin Law & IP.

Sources

  • Industrial Property Code No. 6769, Article 6 (mevzuat.gov.tr)
  • Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Article 6bis
  • Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, guidelines on well-known mark assessment (turkpatent.gov.tr)
Related practice areaIndustrial Property Law→

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