Application of a design in Turkey involves preparation of a design application petition on an A4 size plain white paper by the use of a typewriter to the institute of Patent in Turkey. In case the first applicant in a different country is not similar to the applicant in Turkey, then a declaration that confirms to the application form will be prepared, indicating the involved person name with respect to ownership change, (Deniz, 2009, par 3).
The institute has the powers to refuse the application for a design registration before doing so, the institute has to examine if the application confirms to conditions specified for a design application, and determine the presence of any deficiencies. If the application is ok, it will be accorded the filling date, and a drawing graphic or painting according to its particular features as provisioned in law. When deficiencies exist, the institute will then allow one-month period to remedy the deficiencies, (Ipit-update.com, 2011, par 7).
An application which concurs with all application conditions will then be entered into the design register, and if within six months there is no opposition, the design certificate will then be issued. If opposition arises, the application will then undergo re-examination and evaluation. The publication of the registered design shall be then published by the institute in the official design bulletin for monthly publication1.
The validity of the registration is five years from the day the application was approved. It can be renewed for a maximum of twenty-five years. Renewal process is upon the payment of renewal fees, and upon the request of the right holder. The renewal request has to be a companied by petition, along with original receipt for the payment of renewal fee.
Turkey has signed many treaties for the design protection. They include; “protection of industrial property at Paris convention, world intellectual property organization establishment convention, world trade organization establishment agreement and trade related aspect of intellectual property rights” (Robert, 1997, pg 510), other treaties include, the patent co-operation treaty, international classification for industrial designs, among others2.
There are many provisions for the international extension of these registrations. For instance, the partnership Accession which was dated 8.11. 2000, (Robert, 1997, pg 510). In one way or the other, outlined both short term and middle term Turkish priority for the European Union membership. Under this document, the intellectual property subject was included as a short term priority, having 2001, as the target date, under single market headline. Under this document, Turkey has been advised to undertake further, the positive and effective efforts in this field, particularly piracy prevention.
Another provision is the report on Turkey’s progress toward Accession. Under this report, the intellectual property topic has been included under the company law, (jpo.go.jp2011 par 12). Under this report, it is explained that, particularly in the area of intellectual property rights, Turkey has made much progress, hence there is need to extent its international treaties. The country has also been applauded for adopting international treaties, which have aligned the regime of Turkey with effective directives on rental as well as lending rights concerning copyrights3.
Another provision is the report that parliament approved, which established specialized courts to handle the cases of intellectual properties by the use of international treaties in major provinces, (Deniz, 2009, par 14).
In Turkey, intellectual property offices earn a lot of fees which are supposed to correspond to the public administration costs, but these fees in most cases are paid to the national treasury, with only little of it coming back to budget allotment, (jpo.go.jp2011 par 24). In addition, the costs of administration in conjunction with the integrated circuit design are within each country control. There is other cost which the agreement provides according to which the applicant for registration has to pay. “A modest supplementary class fees for each class beyond the first three and a modest complementary fee for each designated country”4.
References
Deniz,Ilgaz. (2009). Turkey Aims Harmonization with the EU Acquis communautaire in Intellectual Property As A Requirement of Membership. Web.
Ipit-update.com. Design Registration. (2011). Web.
jpo. Turkey Industrial Design Regulations. (2011). Web.
Robert, Sherwood. The Trips Agreement: Implications for Developing Countries. The Journal of Law and Technology. 37, (1997):491-560.
Footnotes
- jpo. Turkey Industrial Design Regulations. (2011). Web.
- Deniz, Ilgaz. Turkey Aims Harmonization with the EU Acquis communautaire in Intellectual Property. As a Requirement of Membership. (2009). Web.
- Ipit-update.com. Design Registration. (2011). Web.
- Robert, Sherwood. The Trips Agreement: Implications for Developing Countries. The Journal of Law and Technology. 37, (1997):491-560. Pg 530.