The followings are the subjects which are not deemed as invention and therefore not patentable in Turkey:
The followings are the inventions for which patent protection is not allowed in Turkey:
The PCT applications should be typically nationalized within 30 months from the first priority date or the filing date if no priority is claimed. Turkey provides additional 3 months for the national phase entries and thus the PCT applications can be still nationalized within 33 months from the first priority date or the filing date if no priority is claimed provided that additional fee (typically 50% of the national entry fee) is paid.
The followings are required:
All the information and documents can be obtained through PATENTSCOPE if the PCT application has been published when the national phase is performed.
Power of Attorney is not required.
Turkish translations of the Specifications (description, claims, abstract and drawings) are required for the national phase entry in Turkey. Turkish translation can be filed with the request for national phase entry or within 2 months after filing the request for national phase entry.
The applicants, who are not resident in Turkey, are required to be represented by registered Turkish patent attorneys. Power of Attorney is not required for the representation.
National entry fee is required to be paid. Also, additional fee (typically half the national entry fee) should be paid if the national entry is performed within 33 months.
When entering into national phase in Turkey, the patent annuities (typically 3rd and 4th year) are required to be paid as well if they are due on the date of entry. If the patent annuities due on the national entry time are not paid, they can be still paid but with a surcharge within 6 months from the date of entry into national phase.
When requesting examination, the applicants are required to pay the official fee for examination.
In respect of the patent application filed on or after 10 January 2017, on which New Turkish Industrial Property Code (Law No. 6979) came into force, patent annuities are due in respect of the third and each consecutive year, calculated from the date of filing.
In respect of the patent applications filed before 10 January 2017 under the Old Decree Law (Decree Law No. 551), patent annuities are due in respect of the second and each consecutive year, calculated from the date of filing.
The due dates are calculated as from the PCT filing date in Turkey. Actually, the PCT filing date is considered as the filing date of the patent applications nationalized under the PCT.
The prosecutions of patent applications (from filing to grant) takes approx. 2-3 years in Turkey.
Patents are valid for 20 years and utility models are valid for 10 years in Turkey provided that annuities are duly paid throughout the lifetime of patent or utility model. There is no possibility to extend the protection term beyond the standard term (no-SPC (Supplementary Protection Certificate) like system).
Formal Examination
After filing patent application, TURKPATENT perform formal examination within approx. 2-3 months and notify the applicant accordingly. If there is deficiency, TURKPATENT request the applicant to remove the deficiency within 2 months from the notification of the formal examination. If the applicant does not remove the deficiency within the due date, the application is deemed to be withdrawn.
Substantive Examination
The applicant should file the request for examination within 3 months paying the examination fee from the date of the official notification confirming that the national phase entry has been duly performed. When filing the request for examination, the applicants can submit response to the observations in the international search report and amendments on specifications.
If the national phase entry is performed under Chapter II and the International Preliminary Examination Report (IPER) is positive, the application is directly allowed for grant without further examination.
Office Actions (Examination Reports)
In the course of the substantive examination, the examiner in charge can issue office actions (examination reports) raising objections regarding the patentability or other substantive issues (lack of unity, clarity etc.) and ask response or amendments within 3 months from the notification of office action. If the applicant fails to reply in due time to any office action, the application is deemed to be withdrawn.
The examiner in charge can issue 3 office actions at most during the examination. Actually, each office action corresponds to an examination report. In case of replying an office action, the applicants should file request for examination and pay the official fee for further examination. During the examination proceedings, there can be filed 3 examination requests at most, wherein the right for the third examination is at the discretion of the examiner. In other words, it is not allowed to file more than three examination requests and the decision on patentability at the first instance is made based on the second examination report, or the third examination report if the examiner had allowed the applicant to proceed with the third examination.
As all the office actions are issued in Turkish, foreign applicants can need the translation of the office actions into English or other languages that they may require.
In case of refusal decisions resulting from the examination reports, it is possible to file appeal before Re-Examination and Re-Evaluation Board of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office ("Board of Appeal").
Grant
If the examiner in charge confirms patentability after substantive examination, TURKPATENT grant and publish decision for patent in the Turkish Patent Bulletin and send a communication of grant to the applicant. At applicant’s option, TURKPATENT can issue Letters of Patent provided that official fee for issuing Letters of Patent is paid by applicant.
Opposition
Turkey applies post-grant opposition system. Any third party can file opposition within 6 months from the publication of the decision for grant. If any opposition is filed, the opposition is handled by the Board of Appeal and the applicant can submit response to the opposition and file amendments during the opposition proceedings where necessary. All the opposition proceedings are handled in written, i.e. there are no oral proceedings.
Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT) only provides accelerated examination possibility under Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) agreements.
TURKPATENT has bi-lateral PPH agreements with three national patent offices, i.e. Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) (click here for PPH guideline and PPH request form), Japan Patent Office (JPO) (click here for PPH guideline and PPH request form), and Russia's Federal Service for Intellectual Property (ROSPATENT), for accelarating the examinations. Turkey's PPH program implementation can be found on this link.
Except for PPH agreements, there is no accelerated examination procedure in Turkey.
Patent applications filed through national phase entry of PCT applications can be converted into utility model applications during the proceedings, provided that request for conversion is filed not later than 3 months from the notification of the last office action issued by the examiner or before the grant. For due conversion, search fee should be also paid.
Protection of utility models is not possible for methods, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The term of protection is 10 years from the filing date.
If the national phase entry is not performed within prescribed time limits, i.e. 30 months or 33 months from the priority date, or filing date if no priority is claimed, the applicant has the right to ask reinstatement of rights in Turkey provided that the conditions prescribed under Rule 49.6 of the Regulations under the PCT are met.
No, it is not allowed to protect the same invention by both patent and utility model in Turkey.
Do you have further questions about PCT national phase entries in Turkey? Please contact us. We will answer your questions as soon as possible.