From Madrid to Istanbul: international registration in Turkey
The Madrid system offers a trademark owner the possibility to have a trademark protected in several countries by simply filing one application. In addition to a single application for several countries, the system also provides lots of additional advantages to the trademark owner. It is possible to designate member countries subsequently or easily file any changes using a single step.
Besides all of these advantages, the most important benefit of the system is its costeffectiveness. Of course, the system also has a few disadvantages, like dependence on the basic application for five years. However, the positives of the system generally outweigh the negatives for applicants. As a result, the number of users of the system is increasing day by day.
As of January 1, 2011, 83 members are party to the agreement or the protocol, or both.
Since Turkey is one of the biggest markets in Europe, with a growing population of 73 million, it has becomes an attractive market for foreigners. Therefore, the number of foreign applications is increasing. In order to facilitate the application procedure in Turkey and meet the requirements of the applicants, Turkey decided to become a member of the system. The Madrid Protocol (1989) entered into force in Turkey on January 1, 1999, and has been used effectively ever since by both local and foreign trademark owners.
The table overleaf shows the number of international applications designating Turkey and the number of national applications by foreign applicants until the end of 2010. In the first year of the membership, there is a big jump between 1999 and 2000, and the number of international registrations doubles in a year. Generally though, there are up and downs between years, but the overall trend is up (except in 2009, due to the impact of the global economic crisis).
The average number of international applications designating Turkey is 8,900 over the last five years. This average is more than double the average numbers of national foreign applications in Turkey. Most applicants prefer to use the Madrid system for trademark registration.
Turkish companies also use the international registration system very effectively for trademark registrations with contracting parties. According to the online Romarin database, 6,827 international registration applications were filed based on Turkish national applications from January l, 1999 to April 1, 2011.
As it is possible to designate multiple countries with a single international application, we may assume that more than a hundred thousand applications were filed with the contracting parties of the Madrid Protocol by Turkish companies.
According to the WIPO statistics database dated June 2010, in 2009, applicants from Turkey that filed applications via the Madrid System accounted for 2.1 percent of total international registrations—the 14th highest number of any country.
The Turkish renewals account for just 0.2 percent of the total international renewals, but this can be explained by the relatively recent adoption of the Madrid Protocol in Turkey. And the difference in the percentage of international registrations and renewals clearly demonstrates the increasing demand for the international registration system in Turkey.
The popularity of the system grows alongside the participation of new members. Turkish companies generally file applications in nearby countries, especially in Europe, Middle Asia and the Middle East. The number of contracting parties from the Middle East is not high, but the system is still preferable for member countries because of its benefits.
For example, there is no need for legal documents at the application stage of international registrations. This speeds up and simplifies the procedures compared to national applications in Middle East countries.
The United States is also a favourite country for Turkish companies, and on balance, they prefer to use the Madrid System for US applications. Besides the all advantages of the system, it is also possible to register the trademark with intent to use in the US via the Madrid System. Therefore, it becomes the best option for trademark owners who still have not used the trademark mark but intend to.
As long as the number of contracting parties grows, the demand for the Madrid system by Turkish applicants will increase too. At the same time, there are improvements to the regulations in the pipeline that will further enhance the system.
Ayça Pinar Eren Yaşar is an attorney at law at Ankara Patent Bureau Limited. She can be contacted at: ayca.yasar@ankarapatent.com
Gonca Adali Başmakci is the manager of the foreign applications department at Ankara Patent Bureau Limited. She can be contacted at: gonca.adali@ankarapatent.com
