Re-establishment of Rights for European Patent Validations in Türkiye: A Legal Uncertainty
European patents must be validated in Türkiye within three months of the publication of the mention of grant in the European Patent Bulletin. This process generally requires submitting a Turkish translation of the patent specification and paying the applicable official fees. Failure to meet this deadline may result in the patent being deemed invalid in Türkiye from the outset, potentially depriving the patent proprietor of protection in an important market.
Türkiye’s Industrial Property Code provides for the re-establishment of rights under certain conditions where a deadline has been missed despite the exercise of due care. However, the availability of this mechanism for European patent validations remains uncertain. In
practice, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office has adopted a restrictive approach to requests concerning missed validation deadlines, treating them differently from other procedural deadlines. The legal framework does not expressly resolve all aspects of this issue, leaving uncertainty as to whether re-establishment of rights can be invoked in such cases.
The uncertainty surrounding the application of re-establishment of rights to European patent validations presents a significant practical risk for patent proprietors and their representatives. While the general legal framework provides a mechanism for restoring certain lost rights, its availability in the context of European patent validation in Türkiye cannot be safely assumed. Until greater legal clarity emerges, relying on the possibility of re-establishment as a remedy for a missed validation deadline may expose patent proprietors to the loss of protection in Türkiye.
Given the uncertainty surrounding re-establishment of rights for European patent validations in Türkiye, careful monitoring of all applicable dates and deadlines is essential. Patent proprietors and their representatives should ensure that validation requirements are completed within the prescribed period rather than relying on the possibility of restoring rights after a deadline has been missed.
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