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Trademark’s Acquired Distinctiveness through Use
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Att. Pelin Baydar
Acquired Distinctiveness through Use
The absolute grounds required to refuse the registration of a trade-
mark are defined by Article 7/1 of the Decree Law on Protection of
Trademarks (“Decree Law No. 556”). Pursuant to the aforementioned
grounds, an exception exists for the refusal of a trademark registration
under these circumstances:
• Lack of distinctiveness (7/1(a))
• Descriptiveness (7/1(c))
• Common use in trade (7/1(d))
In accordance with Article 7/2 of Decree Law No. 556, registration
of a trademark cannot be refused if it has been used before the registry
date and has acquired distinctiveness through such use regarding the
goods and services subject to registry as per clauses 7/1(a), 7/1(c) and
7/1(d).
The case of acquired distinctiveness through use is an exception
only for refusal conditions stipulated in clauses 7/1(a), 7/1(c) and
7/1(d). Therefore, marks that are unable to be registered on the basis of
other absolute grounds not mentioned above cannot benefit from reg-
istration based on acquired distinctiveness through use.
Submission of Acquired Distinctiveness through Use
In the Trademark Examination Guidelines prepared by the Turkish
Patent Institute (TPI), it is stated that acquired distinctiveness claims
can be submitted in two ways. Accordingly, acquired distinctiveness
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
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Article of April 2014