Practice area
Design Registration in Türkiye
A design is the appearance of the whole or part of a product resulting from features such as lines, contours, shape, colour, materials or texture. Design registration protects how a product looks, not how it works.
Why register a design?
Appearance often drives purchasing decisions, and that is where copying usually begins. The gap between registered and unregistered protection shows why registration matters.
- A registered design protects against any design that does not produce a different overall impression on the informed user; proof of copying is not required.
- An unregistered design is protected only against copying, for three years from first disclosure in Türkiye.
- Registered protection lasts five years and can be renewed in five-year periods up to 25 years in total (Art. 69).
Requirements for protection
Novelty: No identical design may have been made available to the public anywhere in the world before the filing or priority date. Designs differing only in immaterial details are deemed identical.
Individual character: The overall impression on the informed user must differ from that of earlier designs, taking into account the designer's degree of freedom (Art. 56).
Exclusions: Features dictated solely by technical function, and features that must be reproduced in exact form and dimensions to connect mechanically to another product, are not protected (Art. 58).
Registration procedure
Initial consultation
The design is discussed with the applicant and considered in the light of known similar products and designs.
Representations
Protection is defined by what the representations show, so they are prepared to show the design fully and to reflect the intended scope.
Filing
Several designs can be filed in a single multiple application. Publication can be deferred for 30 months on request (Art. 66).
Registration and publication
Following examination by the Office, the design is entered in the register and published in the Official Design Bulletin.
Opposition period
Third parties may oppose within three months of publication (Art. 67). If there is no opposition, the registration certificate is issued.
What we do
Novelty report
On request, a detailed written report on novelty, individual character and the designer's degree of freedom. This is a separate engagement, scoped and quoted individually.
Preparing the application
Representations that match the intended scope; correct treatment of visible parts in component designs.
Oppositions and responses
Oppositions within the three-month period and responses to oppositions against your design.
Similarity assessments
Technical comparison based on overall impression and the informed user in copying disputes.
Technical OpinionsRenewals and recordals
Five-yearly renewals, assignments and licence recordals.
Frequently asked questions
We have already shown the product at a trade fair. Can we still file?
A disclosure by the designer, or with their consent, within the 12 months before the filing date does not destroy novelty or individual character (Art. 57). The application must be filed within that period.
Design or patent?
A design protects appearance; a patent or utility model protects a technical solution. A product with both a new look and a new technical solution can be protected by both.
Can I claim priority from a foreign filing?
Yes, within six months of the first filing in a Paris Convention country.
Would you like to discuss a matter?
Tell us briefly about your case; we will set out the steps, deadlines and risks in writing.