No safe harbour in Turkish law for registered trade marks, designs and patents against infringement claims by proprietors of earlier registered rights

Abstract In Turkish law, the proprietor of a registered industrial property right may initiate infringement proceedings against the proprietor of a later registered trade mark, patent, or design right without the need for the later right to have been declared invalid beforehand. The Industrial Property Code (no 6769, Article 155) is in line with the CJEU’s Celaya (C‒488/10), Canina (C‒561/11) and Rosa dels Vents (C‒491/14) decisions. In 2024, the Turkish Constitutional Court held that such restrictions on trade mark, patent and design rights do not constitute a violation of the right to property, which is protected as a fundamental right under the Turkish Constitution.