Intellectual and Industrial Property Consulting in Turkey

Filing is not strategy. Most foreign companies entering Turkey already know they need a trademark, a patent, or a design registration. The harder questions come earlier and later: What rights actually matter for our business in Turkey? What is the cheapest registration that still gives us enforceable protection? Are we walking into someone else’s prior right? How do we structure the Turkish IP so it survives an investment round, an exit, a tax audit, or an acquisition? Who owns the inventions of our Turkish R&D team? Are we eligible for Turkish R&D tax benefits, and what do we have to prove?

These are not filing questions. They are intellectual and industrial property consulting questions, and they require a Turkish IP advisor who understands both the statute and the commercial environment.

At Leo Patent, we provide intellectual and industrial property consulting to foreign companies entering Turkey, Turkish companies expanding abroad, investors evaluating Turkish targets, in-house legal teams managing global portfolios, R&D-intensive SMEs, universities, and producer groups. This page sets out exactly what that work looks like under Industrial Property Law No. 6769, how it differs from straightforward filing services, and how an experienced Turkish IP consultant adds value that a filing agent cannot.

Why Intellectual Property Consulting in Turkey Matters

Turkey is a manufacturing, design, and commercial hub at the junction of the European Union, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. It is also one of the most active IP jurisdictions in the region: registrations before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu, or TÜRKPATENT) number in the hundreds of thousands every year. Turkey is a member of the Paris Convention, the PCT, the EPC, the Madrid Protocol, the Hague Agreement (Geneva Act), the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement, the TRIPS Agreement, and the Singapore Treaty. It operates under the Customs Union with the EU, which has significant consequences for trademark exhaustion, parallel imports, and customs enforcement.

The result is that foreign companies face a Turkish IP environment that is technically modern, treaty-aligned, and highly active, but also distinct in its rules, deadlines, and enforcement practices. Without proper consulting, foreign companies routinely:

• File for the wrong scope, wrong classes, or wrong applicant entity, and discover the problem only when an opposition, an audit, or an acquisition exposes it.
• Walk into prior rights held by Turkish third parties (often former distributors) that could have been identified in a single search.
• Miss strict deadlines under Turkish law (PCT national phase at 30 months, EP validation at 3 months, Madrid refusal responses, YİDK appeals at 2 months).
• Lose customs protection because trademarks were never recorded with Turkish Customs.
• Overpay official fees by filing one application at a time when multi-design or multi-class strategies would consolidate.
• Fail to qualify for Turkish R&D and innovation incentives (TÜBİTAK, KOSGEB, Technology Development Zones, R&D and Design Centers, the Turkish “Patent Box” regime) because their IP structure does not match what the incentive regime requires.
• Hand over inventions made by Turkish employees without proper documentation under the Employee Inventions regime in Articles 113 to 121 of IP Law No. 6769.

A registered Turkish trademark and patent attorney providing consulting work fixes these issues before they become expensive.

Why Choose Leo Patent

Leo Patent is a Turkish intellectual property firm built around one principle: the trademark and patent attorney who advises you is the same person who answers your emails. No call centers. No outsourced consulting. No generic templates pulled from a partner network.

The firm is led by Burak Unal, a registered Turkish Patent Attorney (Registration No. 1677) and registered Turkish Trademark Attorney (Registration No. 2900), licensed to represent clients directly before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office in trademark, patent, design, and geographical indication matters.

Leo Patent is co-owned by Mr. Kaan Karanfiloglu, a senior Turkish lawyer and registered trademark attorney. Kaan Karanfiloglu is admitted to the Istanbul Bar Association (Registration No. 58270) and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (Registration No. 133074). The combination of a registered Turkish trademark and patent attorney and a senior Turkish lawyer co-owning the same firm gives clients an integrated team: prosecution and consulting handled by registered trademark and patent attorneys, and any litigation, court enforcement, or IP-related contractual dispute handled in-house by qualified Turkish legal counsel, without changing firms.

What foreign clients consistently tell us they value:

• Strategic, not procedural. We answer “what should we do,” not just “what is the deadline.”
• Direct trademark and patent attorney access. Consulting clients work with a Turkish-qualified trademark and patent attorney from the first email through to delivery.
• Fluent English correspondence. Memos, strategy notes, opinions, and meeting calls are in clear English, with full Turkish-language compliance handled internally.
• Transparent flat fees for defined consulting work (audits, FTO opinions, due diligence reports, contract reviews). Hourly billing is the exception, not the default.
• Specialist commercial fluency. Burak Unal’s combined background in Business Management (Boğaziçi University) and Finance (MSc, London School of Economics) means strategy memos that read like business documents, not legal essays.
• Same-day response on working days across EU, UK, US, and Gulf time zones.
• Coordinated prosecution and enforcement. TÜRKPATENT-side work and Turkish-court-side work in one firm.

When the question is strategic rather than procedural, you want a Turkish trademark and patent attorney who has seen how the strategy actually plays out.

About Burak Unal, Turkish Patent and Trademark Attorney

Burak Unal is a trademark attorney and patent attorney at Leo Patent. He graduated from Boğaziçi University in 2016 with a degree in Business Management, and went on to complete an MSc in Finance at the London School of Economics.

• Patent Attorney Registration No.: 1677
• Trademark Attorney Registration No.: 2900
• Trademark and Patent Attorney Practice: Registered before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT)
• Languages: Turkish (native), English (professional), French (professional), Chinese (professional)

Burak Unal’s consulting practice serves foreign companies entering Turkey, Turkish exporters expanding abroad, investors and acquirers performing IP due diligence on Turkish targets, R&D-intensive SMEs structuring their innovation pipeline, universities and tech-transfer offices, and producer groups managing collective IP rights.

His work includes Turkish IP portfolio audits, freedom-to-operate analyses, IP due diligence for M&A and investment, licensing and technology transfer strategy, IP clause review in commercial and employment agreements, IP-aligned market-entry planning, advisory on Turkish R&D and innovation incentive eligibility, and coordinated prosecution strategy across trademarks, patents, designs, and geographical indications.

His combined background in business management, finance, and Turkish IP practice gives clients a commercially literate counterparty. Strategy memos are framed around the underlying business case, not procedural mechanics.

What Intellectual and Industrial Property Consulting in Turkey Actually Covers

Consulting is the umbrella service that sits above filing. It includes everything that determines whether a filing should happen, what it should look like, how it interacts with the rest of the business, and what to do with it after grant. The following are the consulting services Leo Patent provides under Turkish IP law.

1. IP Portfolio Audit and Strategy

A portfolio audit answers the question: what do we actually own in Turkey, and is it doing what it needs to do?

Typical audit scope:

• All Turkish trademarks, patents, utility models, designs, and geographical indications registered or applied for by the client or its group.
• Recordal status of assignments, licenses, mergers, name changes, and security interests with TÜRKPATENT.
• Annuity and renewal status, including upcoming deadlines and lapse risks.
• Madrid Protocol and Hague System designations of Turkey.
• European patents validated in Turkey (EP-TR) and their annuity status.
• Gaps in protection: products in market without trademark coverage, technical inventions used without patent or utility-model protection, brand extensions outside the registered class.
• Conflicts and risks: third-party prior rights, ongoing oppositions, pending invalidation actions, potential non-use cancellation exposure.
• Customs recordal status.

The output is a written audit report with a prioritized action list (file, oppose, renew, cancel, recordal, or do nothing).

2. IP Due Diligence for M&A, Investment, and Joint Ventures

When investors, acquirers, or joint venture partners evaluate a Turkish target, the IP portion of the due diligence is often the difference between a defensible valuation and an overpayment. We perform:

• Buyer-side IP due diligence on Turkish targets for foreign acquirers and investors. We confirm ownership chains, identify encumbrances, assess enforceability, and flag deal-breakers (third-party prior rights, missed renewals, defective assignments, employee invention exposure, undisclosed licenses).
• Seller-side IP due diligence for Turkish targets preparing for sale, fundraising, or strategic partnership, to clean up the portfolio before buyers find the issues.
• Vendor IP packs for sale processes: a structured set of registry extracts, ownership confirmations, recordal evidence, and risk disclosures.
• Joint venture IP structuring: how Turkish-registered IP and foreign-registered IP should be contributed, licensed, or assigned between JV partners.

3. Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Analysis in Turkey

Before launching a product in Turkey, the question is not only “can we protect our own IP,” but also “are we going to infringe someone else’s.” FTO work in Turkey covers:

• Searches of Turkish patents, utility models, validated EPs, and pending applications relevant to the product or technology.
• Trademark FTO: identical and confusingly similar marks in the relevant Nice classes.
• Design FTO: registered Turkish designs and Hague designations.
• Risk-graded written opinion with options (proceed, design around, license, oppose, invalidate).

FTO is a distinct exercise from patentability or registrability. A granted Turkish patent does not give you the right to practice the invention if a third-party patent dominates. Most foreign clients learn this the expensive way unless an FTO is done before launch.

4. Licensing, Technology Transfer, and IP Commercialization

We advise on the structuring, drafting, and recordal of:

• Trademark license agreements (exclusive, non-exclusive, sole), including franchise structures.
• Patent license agreements and utility model licenses.
• Technology transfer agreements between foreign licensors and Turkish licensees.
• Coexistence agreements between holders of conflicting trademark rights.
• Assignment agreements for trademarks, patents, designs, and copyrights.
• Distribution and OEM agreements with proper IP clauses.
• Software license agreements and SaaS terms reflecting Turkish IP and copyright law.

Recordal with TÜRKPATENT is critical: under Turkish law, unrecorded licenses and assignments are not enforceable against third parties. We handle the recordal as part of the engagement.

5. IP Valuation Support

We work with valuation specialists, auditors, and tax advisors to support:

• IP valuation for M&A and investment transactions.
• IP-backed financing and security interests over registered IP.
• Tax-driven IP planning (intra-group licensing, IP holding company structures, transfer pricing alignment).
• Accounting treatment of intangibles.

We do not act as valuers, but we provide the legal foundation (clean ownership, valid registrations, defensible scope) on which credible valuations are built.

6. IP Clauses in Commercial and Employment Contracts

A registered trademark in Turkey is one document. The contracts around it are often hundreds, and most of them have IP consequences. We review and advise on:

• Employment contracts and inventor compensation under Articles 113 to 121 of IP Law No. 6769 (employee inventions).
• Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), including the specific drafting issues under Turkish trade-secret protection.
• R&D and joint development agreements.
• Manufacturing agreements (OEM, contract manufacturing).
• Distribution and reseller agreements with proper trademark and goodwill provisions.
• Software development agreements, including ownership of code, derivative works, and open-source compliance.
• Settlement and coexistence agreements in trademark disputes.

7. Brand Protection and Anti-Counterfeiting Strategy

For consumer-facing brands, registration is the start, not the end. We design and run brand protection programs covering:

• Customs recordal with the Turkish Customs Authority for border detention of infringing imports and exports.
• Online enforcement on Turkish marketplaces (Trendyol, Hepsiburada, Amazon Turkey, Çiçeksepeti, GittiGidiyor, etc.) and global marketplaces serving Turkish consumers.
• Social media takedown strategy for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.
• Domain name strategy in Turkey, including .com.tr disputes via the TRABIS / TRTRP procedure.
• Cease-and-desist letters to infringers (sent by our co-owner Turkish lawyer where Turkish legal practice qualification is required).

8. Market Entry IP Planning for Foreign Companies

For foreign companies considering Turkish operations, we provide an integrated IP market-entry pack:

• Trademark clearance and filing strategy across relevant Nice classes.
• Patent or utility model strategy aligned with the product line.
• Design portfolio strategy for consumer products.
• Distributor and agent agreement review to prevent bad-faith registrations.
• Customs recordal as part of launch.
• Internal IP awareness training for the Turkish team.

9. Turkish R&D and Innovation Incentive Advisory

Turkey has one of the most active R&D incentive regimes in the region. Eligibility usually depends on IP structure. We advise on how IP should be held, licensed, and exploited to qualify for:

• TÜBİTAK R&D grants and project support.
• KOSGEB SME and entrepreneurship support.
• R&D Centers (Ar-Ge Merkezleri) and Design Centers (Tasarım Merkezleri) status under Law No. 5746.
• Technology Development Zones (Teknokent / Teknopark) corporate tax exemptions and stamp duty exemptions.
• Investment incentive certificates issued by the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey.
• The Turkish R&D-linked corporate tax regime that effectively functions as a partial “patent box” for qualifying income.

10. IP Training and Internal Capability Building

For corporate clients, we run tailored training sessions in English or Turkish for legal, R&D, marketing, sales, and procurement teams. Topics include trademark hygiene, invention capture, employee invention notification, distributor risk, customs enforcement, and what to do when the team receives a cease-and-desist letter.

Who Benefits Most from IP Consulting in Turkey

How a Consulting Engagement With Leo Patent Works

The structure of a consulting engagement is straightforward and intentionally predictable.

Step 1. Free initial assessment. You describe the question. We confirm whether it is a consulting matter, a filing matter, or both. Initial assessment is free and confidential.

Step 2. Written scope and flat-fee quote. We send a written scope of work, deliverables, and a flat-fee quote. No hourly billing for defined work unless you specifically prefer it.

Step 3. Engagement letter. A short engagement letter sets the terms, including confidentiality, deliverables, and timeline.

Step 4. Information gathering. We send a structured request for documents and information. For routine audits this can be as light as a list of registration numbers. For due diligence it is more substantial.

Step 5. Work and deliverable. We complete the work within the agreed timeline. Standard deliverables are written memos in English, with executive summaries and clear recommendations.

Step 6. Follow-up. Most engagements include a follow-up call to discuss the deliverable and answer questions. Implementation work (filings, recordals, oppositions) is scoped and quoted separately if needed.

Common Mistakes Foreign Companies Make in Turkey Without Consulting

The patterns are predictable. After many years of remedial work, the most common and expensive mistakes we see are:

1. Filing only after distributor appointment. Distributors and agents file the brand in their own name. Once filed, recovery is slow, expensive, and not always successful. Consulting before the first commercial relationship in Turkey prevents this.
2. Treating Turkey as covered by the EU registration. Turkey is not in the EU. EUTM trademarks, RCD designs, and validated EPs do not automatically extend. Madrid Protocol designations, Hague designations, and EP validations are separate steps.
3. Filing the wrong applicant entity. Holding IP in the operating company creates problems on acquisition. Holding it in a personal name creates tax and succession problems. A short consulting conversation upfront solves both.
4. Ignoring employee inventions. Inventions made by Turkish employees default to specific rules under Articles 113 to 121 of IP Law No. 6769, including notification obligations and inventor compensation rights. Foreign employer assumptions about “work for hire” do not automatically apply.
5. No customs recordal. Without TÜRKPATENT registration recorded with Turkish Customs, border enforcement is not available, even for famous brands.
6. No FTO before launch. A Turkish patent grant is not a license to practice. Third-party patents and utility models can block you. FTO costs a fraction of an infringement claim.
7. Unrecorded licenses and assignments. Under Turkish law, unrecorded transfers are not enforceable against third parties. Many foreign companies hold Turkish IP that is technically still in the name of a predecessor entity, with no recorded chain of title.
8. Missing Turkish R&D incentive eligibility. Turkish R&D incentives are generous but require specific IP structures. Many SMEs leave eligibility on the table because nobody asked.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is intellectual and industrial property consulting in Turkey?

It is the strategic and advisory work that sits above filing and prosecution. It covers IP portfolio audits, due diligence, freedom-to-operate analyses, licensing strategy, contract review, brand protection planning, Turkish R&D incentive advisory, and internal IP training. The goal is to make sure Turkish IP rights are correctly scoped, correctly owned, correctly enforced, and properly aligned with the underlying business.

2. How is consulting different from filing services?

Filing answers “how do we register this.” Consulting answers “what should we register, where, in whose name, when, and what should we do with it once registered.” A filing engagement might cover a single application. A consulting engagement covers strategy, due diligence, contracts, and structure across the whole IP function.

3. Do I need IP consulting if I already have Turkish trademarks and patents registered?

Often, yes. Registration is the start. The harder questions follow: Is the scope right? Is ownership clean? Are renewals tracked? Are licenses recorded? Is customs recordal in place? Are employee inventions documented? Is the portfolio aligned with Turkish R&D incentive eligibility? An IP audit answers these.

4. How long does an IP audit in Turkey take?

A standard Turkish portfolio audit takes 2 to 4 weeks depending on portfolio size. Smaller portfolios (under 25 registrations) can be completed faster. Audits for multinational groups with hundreds of Turkish registrations take longer and are typically phased.

5. How much does IP consulting cost in Turkey?

We work on flat fees for defined deliverables. As of 2026, typical ranges are: portfolio audit EUR 1,500 to 5,000; buyer-side due diligence EUR 2,500 to 12,000 depending on target complexity; FTO opinion EUR 1,500 to 8,000 depending on technology breadth; contract review EUR 500 to 3,000 per agreement. Leo Patent provides a written scope and quote before any work begins.

6. Can a foreign company use Leo Patent for IP consulting in Turkey?

Yes. The majority of our consulting clients are foreign companies. Under Article 160 of IP Law No. 6769, foreign applicants without a residence or place of business in Turkey must appoint a registered Turkish trademark and patent attorney for filings and prosecution. We act as registered representative for clients in over 30 countries.

7. What is freedom-to-operate (FTO) analysis in Turkey?

FTO is an analysis of whether a planned product, service, or technology can be commercialized in Turkey without infringing third-party Turkish IP rights. It covers patents, utility models, validated EPs, registered designs, and trademarks. The output is a risk-graded opinion with options (proceed, design around, license, oppose, invalidate).

8. What is IP due diligence in a Turkish M&A deal?

It is the structured review of a target’s IP assets and liabilities. Standard scope includes: confirmation of ownership and registration validity; recordal of assignments and licenses; encumbrance and security interest checks; ongoing oppositions, invalidations, and litigations; freedom-to-operate exposure; employee invention exposure; open-source compliance for software targets; and a written report with deal-impact recommendations.

9. Are there Turkish tax incentives for owning IP?

Yes. Turkey has multiple incentive regimes that interact with IP, including the R&D Center and Design Center status under Law No. 5746, the Technology Development Zone regime (Teknokent / Teknopark) with corporate and stamp duty exemptions, and corporate tax provisions favoring qualifying R&D-linked income. Eligibility depends on the IP structure. We advise on alignment with the eligibility criteria.

10. Who owns inventions made by employees in Turkey?

Under Articles 113 to 121 of IP Law No. 6769, employee inventions fall into “service inventions” (made in the course of work) and “free inventions” (outside it). Service inventions must be notified by the employee. The employer can claim full or partial rights, subject to inventor compensation rights. Free inventions remain with the employee, subject to certain offer rights to the employer where relevant. Foreign employer assumptions about default ownership are not automatically aligned with Turkish law.

11. Are trade secrets protected in Turkey?

Yes, but not through a single dedicated statute. Trade secret protection in Turkey is built from a combination of the Turkish Commercial Code, the Turkish Code of Obligations, the Turkish Criminal Code, unfair competition rules, employment law, and contract. Robust NDAs, employment IP clauses, and information-handling protocols are essential. We advise on the contractual and structural pieces.

12. Can I record trademark and patent licenses with TÜRKPATENT?

Yes, and you should. Under Turkish law, unrecorded licenses are not enforceable against third parties. Assignments must also be recorded to have effect against third parties. We handle recordal as part of any consulting engagement that touches on licensing or transfers.

13. Does an EU trademark or EU design cover Turkey?

No. Turkey is not an EU member state. EU Trade Marks (EUTM) and Registered Community Designs (RCD) granted by EUIPO have no automatic effect in Turkey. Protection in Turkey requires either a Turkish national application, a Madrid Protocol designation of Turkey (for trademarks), or a Hague System designation of Turkey (for designs).

14. Does a European patent (EP) cover Turkey?

Only after validation. European patents granted by the EPO must be validated in Turkey within 3 months of grant publication to take effect. Validation is a separate step requiring a Turkish translation of the claims (and, where applicable, the description) and payment of validation and annuity fees in Turkey.

15. Can Leo Patent handle litigation as well as consulting?

Yes. Litigation, court enforcement, and IP-related contractual disputes are handled by our co-owner Mr. Kaan Karanfiloglu, a senior Turkish lawyer registered with the Istanbul Bar Association and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations. Prosecution and consulting before TÜRKPATENT are handled by Burak Unal as a registered Turkish patent and trademark attorney. Clients get the entire scope from one firm.

16. What languages do you work in?

Engagements are conducted in English for foreign clients and Turkish for domestic clients. Burak Unal also works in French and Chinese at professional level for clients who prefer those languages.

17. Are consulting communications with Leo Patent confidential?

Yes. All client communications are confidential. Engagements operate under written engagement letters with confidentiality provisions. Internal information handling is structured to protect client data.

18. How do I start a consulting engagement?

Send a short email describing the question to [email protected]. We respond on working days, often the same day. The initial assessment is free.

Talk to a Turkish IP Consultant: Free Initial Assessment

If you are entering the Turkish market, acquiring a Turkish target, restructuring an existing portfolio, or evaluating R&D incentive eligibility, Leo Patent can help. We offer:

• A free initial assessment of your question
• A written scope and flat-fee quote
• Direct, English-language correspondence with a registered Turkish patent and trademark attorney
• Integrated handling: TÜRKPATENT prosecution by Burak Unal, and Turkish court matters by our co-owner Mr. Kaan Karanfiloglu, without changing firms

Contact Leo Patent today for intellectual and industrial property consulting in Turkey.

Email: [email protected] Website: www.leopatent.com

Registered before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT).

Important Note: Leo Patent offers trademark and patent attorney services for intellectual property registration and consulting in Turkey. We don’t offer lawyer services.

You can verify our trademark and patent license at TürkPatent at this website https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/vekil-arastirma. You can type Burak Ünal at the search bar to verify our official license.