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CategoryTrademark
Published28 August 2026
Authors
Uğurcan TekinPartner
Beyza ErdemirAttorney at Law

Trade Name versus Trademark in Türkiye: Two Registries, One Market

Registering the trade name with the trade registry at incorporation often gives founders a misleading sense of security: the name is registered, so the term now belongs to the company. Yet the trade name and the trademark are two distinct rights with different functions, born in different registries and protected under different rules. The trade name distinguishes the trader, that is, the owner of the business; the trademark distinguishes goods and services. Registering a term as a trade name does not, by itself, confer the right to use that term as a trademark on goods and services.

The conflict arises precisely there. A company that features the term from its trade name on product packaging, signage, its website and advertising has, in fact, crossed into trademark-style use. If the same term is registered as a trademark in someone else's name, that use may amount to trademark infringement.

The trade name distinguishes the business, the trademark its goods and services; conflict arises where the two functions intersect.

The Trademark Owner's Position against the Trade Name

Article 7 of the Industrial Property Code No. 6769 empowers the trademark owner to prohibit the use of the sign as a trade name or business name. A registered proprietor may therefore act against a later trade name used in a manner creating confusion with its mark. In practice, this can extend to claims for cancellation of the trade name and prohibition of the term's use. The similarity check performed by the trade registry at incorporation does not cover the trademark register; a trade name registered without difficulty at the trade registry may well be defective from the standpoint of trademark law.

The Trade Name Owner's Position against the Trademark

On the other side of the coin stands the protection of the earlier trade name. Under Article 6/6 of the Code, where a sign protected as an industrial property right or under copyright, including another person's trade name, predates the application, the later trademark application is refused upon the right holder's opposition. A business that has actually used its trade name with trademark-like intensity may oppose the registration of the same term as a trademark in a third party's name. Here too, what matters is not the entry on paper but the term's actual use and recognition in the market.

“Being first in the registry is not enough; one must also be first, and visible, in the market.”

Principles of Resolution

Two principles dominate the resolution of these disputes. The first is priority in time: as a rule, the party whose right arose earlier is protected. The second is the manner of use: using the trade name honestly, within its naming function and to identify the business, is assessed differently from featuring the term on products in a trademark-like way. The trade name provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code and the trademark provisions of the Industrial Property Code are applied together in that assessment.

Practical Advice

The cheapest solution to this conflict lies in two measures taken at incorporation. Running a trademark search on the core term of the intended trade name before the company is formed largely removes the risk of a later infringement claim. Registering the same term as a trademark, simultaneously with incorporation, in the classes the business will operate in secures the term in both registries. Discovering years later that the core of a long-used trade name has been registered as someone else's trademark is a scenario that can be fixed, but at a price.

Key Principles

  • The trade name distinguishes the trader, the trademark the goods and services; the two rights arise in different registries.
  • Trade name registration does not by itself authorise trademark-style use of the term.
  • The trademark owner may prohibit confusing use of the sign as a trade name.
  • The owner of an earlier trade name may oppose registration of the same term as a trademark.
  • Priority in time and the manner of use are decisive in resolution.
  • A pre-incorporation trademark search and simultaneous registration are the cheapest safeguards.

Devin Patent provides attorney services for pre-incorporation trademark searches and for registering the core of the trade name as a trademark. Trade name cancellation and trademark infringement actions are handled by our partner firm, Devin Law & IP.

Sources

  • Industrial Property Code No. 6769, Articles 6 and 7 (mevzuat.gov.tr)
  • The trade name provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (mevzuat.gov.tr)
Related practice areaIndustrial Property Law→

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