The Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (hereinafter referred to as the “Law”) was published in the Official Gazette No. 29944 on January 10, 2017.

According to Article 192/1 (a) of the Law, the entry into force of Article 26, which pertains to trademark cancellation, was postponed for seven years. Pursuant to Provisional Article 4, requests for trademark cancellation were planned to be evaluated and concluded before the Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights Courts until January 10, 2024.

With the expiration of the period specified in the Law, on January 10, 2024, Article 26, which regulates the conditions and requirements for trademark cancellation, came into force. According to this article, trademark cancellation requests will now be handled and decided upon by the Turkish Trademark and Patent Office (hereinafter referred to as the “Office”) instead of the Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights Courts. With this change, the trademark cancellation procedure has been aligned with EU Trademark Directive 2015/2436 and EU Trademark Regulation 2015/2424.

We would like to emphasize that the Law stipulates that trademark cancellation cases already pending before the courts as of the effective date of Article 26 will continue to be heard and concluded by the courts. The amendments and conditions introduced by this Law article are as follows:

**Grounds for Cancellation and Cancellation Request**

**Article 26-** (1) The Office shall decide on the cancellation of a trademark upon request in the following cases:

a) The existence of the conditions specified in the first paragraph of Article 9.

(* **Article 9-** (1) If a trademark is not seriously used in Turkey by the trademark owner for the goods or services for which it was registered within five years from the registration date without a justified reason, or if its use has been interrupted for five consecutive years, the trademark shall be canceled. *)

b) If, as a result of the actions of the trademark owner or failure to take necessary measures, the trademark has become a common name for the goods or services for which it was registered.

c) If, as a result of use by the trademark owner or with the trademark owner’s permission, the trademark misleads the public, particularly concerning the nature, quality, or geographical origin of the goods or services for which it was registered.

ç) If there is a violation of Article 32.

(* **Article 32-** (1) For the registration of a certification mark or a collective mark, the submission of a technical specification indicating the rules and principles regarding the use of the mark is mandatory with the application. *)

(2) Relevant parties may request the Office to cancel a trademark.

(3) Trademark cancellation requests shall be directed against the persons registered as the trademark owner in the registry or their legal successors on the date of the request.

(4) If a trademark has been seriously used for the goods or services for which it was registered between the expiration of the five-year period and the date of submission of the cancellation request to the Office, cancellation requests regarding paragraph (a) of the first clause shall be rejected. However, if the use has been carried out in anticipation of a cancellation request, use occurring within the three months preceding the submission of the request shall not be taken into account.

(5) If the grounds for cancellation concern only some of the goods or services for which the trademark is registered, a partial cancellation shall be decided only for those goods or services. No cancellation decision shall be made in a way that alters the trademark example.

(6) If the right holder changes during the cancellation examination, the proceedings shall continue against the person registered as the right holder in the registry.

(7) Cancellation requests shall be notified to the trademark owner. The trademark owner must submit their evidence and responses to the Office within one month of notification. If requested within this one-month period, the Office may grant an additional period of up to one month. The Office may request additional information and documents if deemed necessary.

The Office shall decide on the case based on the claims, defenses, and submitted evidence.

Appeals against acceptance or rejection decisions issued by the Office shall be made to the Re-Examination and Evaluation Board within the Turkish Trademark and Patent Office (hereinafter referred to as the “YİDK”). According to **Article 20** of the Law, the appeal period is **2 months** from the notification of the decision, and the appeal must be made to the Office in written and reasoned form by the party adversely affected by the decision.

Appeals reviewed and decided upon by YİDK shall constitute a final decision. It will not be possible to file a further appeal against YİDK’s decisions. However, according to **Article 156** of the Law and the **Regulation on the Re-Examination and Evaluation Boards of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office**, a lawsuit may be filed at the **Ankara Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights Court** within **two months** from the notification of the decision.

*For more detailed information on this matter, please feel free to contact us at the contact numbers below at any time.*