KÜHEYLAN HUKUK
Trademark Cancellation Due to Non-Use: Application to TÜRKPATENT and Five-Year Terms of Use within the scope of the administrative cancellation procedure starting on January 10, 2024 with SMK Art. 9, Art. 26 and Art. 27. Request conditions, proof of serious use, 2026 fees and effect of the decision. This guide is based on the Industrial Property Law No. 6769, the Intellectual and Artistic Works Law No. 5846 and the Supreme Court case law. Updated as of 2026.
A registered trademark can be canceled if it is not used seriously in Türkiye within five years from the date of registration or if its use is interrupted for five years. Since January 10, 2024, these cancellation requests have been made directly to TURKPATENT, not to the court. For businesses that find an unused trademark an obstacle, this method offers a faster and more predictable solution than an invalidity lawsuit; For trademark owners, keeping the evidence of use regularly is a prerequisite for protecting the right. This guide explains the cancellation conditions, the procedure before the Authority, the concept of serious use, 2026 cancellation and escrow fees, the retroactive effect of the decision and ways to appeal.
Trademark registration is a right granted to use. According to the Industrial Property Law (IPC), a trademark that is not used seriously in Türkiye for the goods or services for which it is registered without a justified reason within five years from the date of registration, or whose use has been interrupted for five years uninterruptedly, is decided to be canceled (Article 9/1). The law also provides for three more cases of cancellation: the trademark becoming a common name as a result of the acts or negligence of the trademark owner, misleading the public as a result of use, and use contrary to the technical specifications in the case of a warranty or joint trademark (Art. 26/1). In practice, most of the demands are based on non-use.
Some forms of use are also considered as use: use of the trademark with different elements without changing its distinctive character, use on goods or packaging for export purposes only, and use by third parties with the permission of the trademark owner (Art. 9/2-3). On the other hand, in order for the trademark owner to rely on the use of other companies, he must show that this use is based on permission, and as a rule, a license relationship.
Article 26 of the SMK entered into force on January 10, 2024, seven years after the publication of the Law (Art. 192/1-a). Until this date, the power of annulment was exercised by the courts; The cases pending on that date are concluded in the courts (provisional article 4). Cancellation requests made after January 10, 2024 will be reviewed by TURKPATENT. Procedural details were regulated by the amendment made to the Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial Property Law on 15 March 2025.
Request: Relevant persons request cancellation with a separate request form for each registered trademark (SMK article 26/2). The request is directed against the person who appears to be the owner of the trademark in the registry on the date of the request (Art. 26/3).
Fee and escrow: Cancellation fee consists of the Institution's share and the part held in the escrow account and is paid at once. In the 2026 tariff, the cancellation fee is 35,320 TL and the escrow amount is 35,320 TL. If the request is fully accepted, the escrow is returned to the requester; if it is completely rejected, the trademark is returned to the owner.
Defense: The request is notified to the trademark owner. The trademark owner submits its response and evidence within one month; If requested within this period, the Institution may grant an additional period of up to one month (Art. 26/7).
Decision: The institution makes a decision on the file within the framework of the allegations and defenses and the evidence presented. An objection may be filed against the decision within two months; A lawsuit can also be filed against the decision of the Re-Examination and Evaluation Board at the Ankara Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights Civil Court within two months (SMK Art. 20; Law No. 5000 Art. 15/C).
Beginning of the five-year period Registration date; end use in case of interruption of use SMK article 9/1
Last 3 months before request Usage initiated with a cancellation request in mind will not be taken into account. SMK article 26/4
Brand owner's response time 1 month; Additional time up to 1 month upon request SMK article 26/7
Impact of the decision As a rule, from the date of request; from an earlier date upon request SMK article 27/2
4. What is Serious Use?
Serious use is the actual and sustained use of the trademark to create or maintain a market for goods or services. The scope of use, frequency, duration, geographical prevalence and characteristics of the sector are evaluated together. Token uses do not meet this threshold.
In a decision approved by the 11th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, it was stated that uses of limited duration and effect, such as promoting the brand only in seminars and conferences, printing on packages or appearing in a small number of brochures, will not be considered serious use; It has been stated that the use of a different legal entity can only be accepted as the use of the trademark owner within the scope of a license relationship. In the same file, sponsorship promotions and invoices that could not be linked to the services requested to be canceled were deemed insufficient and the cancellation of the brand in terms of the relevant services was finalized (11. HD, 24.12.2024, E.2024/1350, K.2024/9330).
The following documents are usually presented to prove use: dated invoices showing the brand and the relevant goods or services together, product and packaging photographs, catalogs and advertising materials, e-commerce sales records, fair participation documents, license agreements and financial statements showing sales volume. The documents must span the last five-year period and each good or service for which cancellation is requested; Use in one class does not count as use for other goods and services, even if they are similar.
Circumstances that are beyond the will of the trademark owner and prevent use may constitute a justified reason. The continuation of the official permit or license process required for the product to be put on the market, import bans or a court decision preventing the use of the brand can be evaluated in this context. As a rule, simple commercial difficulties or postponement of investment plans are not considered justifiable reasons.
The cancellation decision is effective from the date the cancellation request is submitted to the Institution. If requested and the cancellation has occurred before, it may be decided that the decision will be effective from this previous date (SMK article 27/2). The finalized decision has consequences against everyone and the trademark is deleted from the registry (Art. 27/5, Art. 27/7). Previously finalized and implemented infringement decisions and implemented contracts are not affected by this retroactive effect, except in cases of gross negligence or bad faith (Art. 27/3).
The cancellation route is often used as part of a strategy rather than in isolation. The applicant who encounters an objection based on an unused trademark requests proof of use in the objection file (Art. 19/2) and requests cancellation in parallel. Thus, the obstacle to the application is removed and the trademark is cleared from the registry.
A startup that produces cosmetic products applied in the 3rd class with the brand "Velora"; The application was rejected in 2017, based on a trademark registered in classes 3, 5 and 35 with the same phrase. In the initiative's research, no product sales, website or advertisement by the previous brand owner was found under this name.
Since five years have passed since the registration date of the previous trademark, it can be evaluated whether the cancellation conditions have been met. The startup must request cancellation to TÜRKPATENT and pay the escrow amount along with the fee. If the trademark owner cannot provide evidence of use, the trademark is canceled in terms of Class 3 and other classes if requested; If the request is fully accepted, the escrow will be returned to the enterprise. Meanwhile, objecting to the rejection of the application within two months and requesting proof of use in this objection ensures that the process proceeds through two separate channels. If the trademark owner starts sales immediately before the request, the use initiated with the cancellation request in mind within the last three months before the request is not taken into account (SMK article 26/4).
Is it necessary to show interest to request cancellation?
The law uses the phrase "relevant persons". In practice, the requests of people who can show that the trademark hinders their application or activity are evaluated within this scope; It would be appropriate to explain this connection in the request.
What happens if the trademark owner uses the trademark in only one class?
Cancellation is limited to unused goods and services only (SMK article 26/5). Registration continues for the goods used.
If the brand's logo has been changed, is it considered usage?
Differences made without changing the distinctive character are considered use (Art.9/2-a). If the use of a logo in which the essential element has changed, the use of a registered trademark may not be accepted.
What is the way to reduce the risk of cancellation for the brand owner?
It is recommended that the documents showing the use of the trademark for all goods and services for which it is registered are archived annually, the uses made by group companies or dealers are tied to a license agreement, and classes that will not be used are removed from the list during renewal.
What will happen to cancellation cases filed before January 10, 2024?
On this date, the cases pending in the courts are concluded by the courts and the finalized decisions are sent to the Institution (provisional article 4).
Not documenting use separately for each class: Use in a group of goods does not protect other goods and services within the scope of registration.
Leaving the use of a group company without a license: The use of another legal entity may not be considered the use of the brand owner if the permission relationship cannot be demonstrated.
Initiating use immediately before the request: Considering the cancellation request, use initiated within three months before the request is not taken into account.
Missing the response period: If the trademark owner does not submit evidence within one month and does not request additional time, the Institution makes a decision based on the current file.
Not requesting the effective date: If the cancellation is desired to be effective from an earlier date, this request must be made clearly (SMK article 27/2).
Cancellation due to non-use is a mechanism that ensures the clearance of trademarks that occupy space in the registry but have no equivalent in the market. With the transition to the administrative procedure, the process has accelerated, but the importance of evidence and time management has increased: targeting the right brand and classes for the requester, and documenting its use on a class basis and periodically for the trademark owner, is decisive.
Küheylan Law Firm handles the cancellation processes together with its client's brand portfolio, from researching the usage status of the target trademark before the cancellation request, to preparing the request and evidence, from establishing the defense file on behalf of the brand owners to the YİDK and Ankara Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights Civil Court stages.
Important Legal Notice: This guide has been prepared by Küheylan Law Firm for general information purposes and does not constitute a legal opinion. Since legislation and judicial precedents may vary, a file-specific legal evaluation must be made before deciding on concrete disputes. Person names and numbers in the case studies are representative.
KÜHEYLAN HUKUK