Success in the entrepreneurship sector is not limited to finding innovative ideas but also related to the effective protection and marketing of these ideas. Therefore, for entrepreneurs to protect their enterprises, prevent disputes and continue their entrepreneurial activities, compliance with the law must be ensured at every stage. In this context, intellectual and industrial property rights that protect the entrepreneur come to the fore. Intellectual and industrial property rights are used to protect an enterprise’s technology, brand name, design and creativity; and trademarks and patents are the key tools of these rights.
Trademark Registration
Trademarks are symbols that businesses use to distinguish their products or services from others. Trademark registration is the process of legally securing a trademark through registration. In this way, the use of the trademark by third parties is prevented and no one other than the trademark owner can use the trademark for any reason.
Pursuant to the Article 23 of the Turkish Industrial Property Act, the protection period for a registered trademark is ten years from the date of application. This period is renewed in ten-year periods. The renewal request must be made by the trademark owner within six months before the date of expiry of the protection period and the information regarding the payment of the renewal fee must be submitted to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office within the same period.
With registration, the right to set and use the trademark for the products and services subject to the registration certificate is given to the owner. In that way, the trademark owner legally protects the registered trademark. Rights such as issuing a warning against those who unfairly use or imitate the trademark, the right to injunction of products bearing the trademark, and the right to file a lawsuit for material and moral damages are provided to the trademark owner. Otherwise, it will be possible to register the trademark and obtain rights for everyone including competitors in the market.
Patent Right
A patent gives privileges to the product owner or to the inventor in areas such as selling, marketing, reproducing, and producing similar products. With the patent, the inventor is given exclusive rights to produce, use and sell. The patent owner has the right to determine who can use the relevant invention, and other people cannot use or sell the invention without owner’s permission.
Pursuant to the Article 82 of the Industrial Property Act, patents are granted to inventions in all fields of technology, provided that they are new, contain an inventive step and are industrially applicable. Pursuant to the Article 101 of the same Act, starting from the date of application, the protection period of a patent is twenty years and the protection period of a utility model is ten years and these periods cannot be extended. Annual fees required for the patent application or protection of the patent are paid during the protection period of the patent, on the date of the end of the second year from the date of application and on the maturity date of each subsequent year.
The patent right ends when one of the following reasons occur: the expiry of the protection period, the patent owner giving up the patent right, or failure to pay the annual fees within the stipulated periods. Turkish Patent and Trademark Office publishes that the patent right has expired. The subject matter of the patent whose rights have expired belongs to the public from the moment the cause of termination occurs.
As a result, trademark registration and patent rights are important tools that enable businesses and individuals to protect their creativity and maintain their commercial success. In addition to legal assurance, it should be noted that a registered trademark increases the value, reputation and recognition of the business or enterprise. Thus, customers’ trust is gained, and a competitive advantage is achieved. Patent rights, on the other hand, greatly affect the commercial success and contribution of an invention to society by encouraging innovation, providing competitive advantage, attracting investment and increasing commercial value.
