Turkey implements amendments to the intellectual property fee schedule

The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (Turkpatent) has implemented an amended fee schedule as of January 1, 2021. The alterations to patent, utility model, trademark, and industrial design fees were initially published in the Official Gazette on December 30, 2020, and span a variety of intellectual property fees.

Patents and Utility Models
Patent and utility model fees have risen across the board, with the filing fee for a patent or utility application rising by 10%, from 50 TRY to 55 TRY. The cost of claiming priority for a patent or a utility model now constitutes 115 TRY, the cost of which was previously 100 TRY, having increased by 15%. Similarly, the fee for examination, which is conducted for patent applications only, has inflated from 700 TRY to 805 TRY.

Grant and annuity fees for patents and utility models have also expanded. The grant fee for a patent previously comprised 360 TRY, and has risen by approximately 11% to 400 TRY. The fees for all years of patent maintenance have risen, with the previous 3rd year patent annuity cost of 360 TRY inflating by approximately 11% to 400 TRY, the 10th increasing by approximately 14% to 1185 TRY from 1040 TRY, and the 20th by the same percentage from 2940 TRY to 3370 TRY. Annuity fees for utility models have risen in a similar fashion to those of patents, with the annuity fee for the third year increasing by 11% from 280 TRY to 310 TRY, and the 10th by 13% from 790 TRY to 895 TRY.

Trademark
The fee for filing a trademark in one class has grown by 12% from 250 TRY to 280 TRY, with each additional class comprising the same cost and increase. A priority claim will now constitute 310 TRY, expanding from 270 TRY by almost 15%. Both the registration fee and renewal fee have risen by approximately 12% respectively, with registration increasing from 670 TRY to 750 TRY and renewal from 840 TRY to 940 TRY.

Industrial Design
Industrial design fees have heightened in slight increments, with the filing fee increasing by approximately 11% from 180 TRY to 200 TRY, and each additional design fee from 80 TRY to 90 TRY, a rise of 12.5%. Each priority claim will now comprise a cost of 310 TRY, an almost 11% inflation from 280 TRY. The fee for publication has also risen by 12.5% to 45 TRY from 40 TRY.

Turkey is among various other countries who have implemented amendments to their IP fee schedules in 2021, with Cuba and the US being examples of the same. This may be indicative of the current economic climate across the globe and its impact on intellectual property, with fees increasing in line with inflation to allow National IP offices to maintain an effective and efficient service.