According to the rules of jurisdiction, each trademark is only protected within the borders of the country in which it is registered. However, given the reality of globalisation and increasing international relations, the fact that each trademark is only protected within the borders of the country in which it is registered limits the competence of trademark owners operating internationally.
For this reason, the trademark owner applying for trademark registration must also apply for trademark registration with the competent authorities of other countries where they would like to be protected. In return, many mechanisms have been developed to ensure that the relevant protections are international in scope. One of these is the right of priority recognised under the Paris Convention.
According to Article 12 of Industrial Property Law No. 6769;
(1) Natural or legal entities or their successors in title who are nationals of one of the states that are party to Paris Convention or Agreement Establishing World Trade Organization or those who are domiciled or has an active commercial enterprise therein although they are not nationals thereof, shall enjoy priority right for applying in Turkey within six months following the date of application they duly filed, for a trademark registration of the identical trademark and identical goods or services to competent authorities, in one of those states within the scope of the provisions of Paris Convention. Priority rights which are not used within this period shall be forfeited. It is mandatory to get a document of priority right from the competent authority of the state to which the first application was filed in order to enjoy the priority right.
Pursuant to the relevant provision, if a trademark application is filed by a person who is a national of or has a place of residence or commercial establishment in one of the states that are parties to the Paris Convention or the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation, a priority right arises for the relevant trademark if a trademark application is filed in Türkiye within six months following the trademark application.
(3) Natural or legal entities set out in the Article 3, who display under the trademark the goods or services for which the trademark is applied for, at national or international exhibitions in Turkey or official or officially recognized exhibitions in the countrie which are parties to Paris Convention or Agreement Establishing World Trade Organization and who presents the certified reproduction of the trademark, shall enjoy the priority right in filing application for registration of the identical trademark in Turkey within six months following the display in the exhibition.
As stated in the third paragraph of the same article, the priority right granted to individuals is not based solely on the application. If the relevant trademark has been exhibited at national or international exhibitions held in Türkiye or at an official or officially recognised exhibition held in countries that are parties to the Paris Convention or the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation, trademark applications filed in Türkiye within six months of the date of exhibition shall also be entitled to priority rights.
In this context, since the relevant six-month period is a limitation period, if no application is made to the competent authorities in Türkiye based on the right of priority within six months following the application or disclosure, the right of priority will lapse.
The right of priority grants trademark owners priority in the literal sense of the word, and within the scope of this priority, applications for trademarks that are identical or indistinguishably similar to the trademark subject to the right of priority in the same goods and service classes made after the date on which the right of priority arose are rejected.
In order to benefit from the right of priority, it will be necessary to request the right of priority when applying for a trademark to the competent authorities in Turkey. When making this request, it is necessary to present the right of priority document issued by the country where the trademark was first registered at the time of application and to pay the right of priority registration fee.
In addition, for applications based on exhibitions, images confirming that the trademark was exhibited at the exhibition and official documents indicating the date of the exhibition and display must also be submitted, as the date of display will affect the limitation period and the commencement of the right of priority.
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