Civil remedies, loss-of-profit calculations, interim protection, customs and the criminal route for trademark infringement in Türkiye.
When counterfeit goods appear, the order in which evidence is preserved and remedies are sought can materially affect the outcome.
Turkish law provides civil claims and, where the particular offence is established, criminal proceedings. Interim measures, customs applications and marketplace notices can also be relevant. None replaces an assessment of the registration, actual conduct and available evidence.
1. What can constitute infringement?
Article 29 of Industrial Property Code No. 6769 must be read with the scope of the registered right, including Article 7 and applicable exceptions. Unauthorised commercial use may include:
- An identical sign for the relevant identical goods/services or a sign creating a likelihood of confusion for the relevant identical or similar goods/services.
- Use unfairly benefiting from or harming a qualifying reputed mark, including beyond similar goods/services where the legal conditions are met.
- Putting the sign on goods or packaging and offering, selling, importing or exporting infringing goods.
- Relevant uses in commercial documents, advertising, websites and online listings.
- Counterfeiting and dealing in counterfeit-marked goods in the circumstances specified by law, or exceeding the rights granted by a licence.
Not every mention of someone else’s mark is infringement. The registration’s scope, lawful descriptive or referential use, exhaustion and the specific conduct require examination. Unregistered signs and copied textile designs may instead or additionally engage unfair competition, copyright or design rights, discussed in the final part.
2. What can be requested in a civil action?
Article 149 provides a range of remedies. Cases are heard by the competent intellectual and industrial property civil court or the civil court assigned where a specialist court is unavailable.
The Code refers to the Turkish Code of Obligations’ tort limitation rules for relevant private-law claims. Do not assume there is one deadline covering every remedy or continuing infringement; assess the dates and claim concerned promptly.
3. Damages: three methods for lost profits
Articles 150 and 151 address loss. Lost profits are calculated using one of the statutory methods chosen by the injured rights holder:
Expected income
The income the holder could have earned without the infringer’s competition.
The infringer’s net profit
The net profit obtained by the infringer through the infringement.
A hypothetical licence fee
The fee the infringer would have paid for lawful licensed use of the right.
An equitable additional share
Under the first two methods, the court may add an equitable share where the right was a determining factor in demand for the product, subject to Article 151(4).
Verified Constitutional Court judgment
In its judgment of 11 February 2025, E. 2024/176, K. 2025/42, the Constitutional Court rejected the constitutional challenge to the net-profit wording in Article 151(2)(b). It did not abolish that method or establish a fixed amount recoverable in every dispute.
The economic importance of the right, relevant licences and the nature and extent of infringement affect the calculation. Expert examination and reliable records are often important. Sales and accounting evidence should be secured through lawful procedures.
4. Interim measures, evidence, customs and marketplaces
Interim injunction: Depending on the evidence and statutory conditions, a court may temporarily restrain production, sales or advertising. Urgency does not remove the need to establish a credible right and infringement risk; security may be required.
Preservation of evidence: Where evidence may disappear, seek appropriate court-supervised preservation of stock, production records or online material.
Customs: A rights holder may request customs action concerning suspected infringing goods under the applicable customs rules. A detention triggers short procedural deadlines; further court or interim steps may be necessary.
Marketplace notice: Article 9 of Law No. 6563 provides a document-based intellectual-property complaint and counter-notice mechanism. A compliant complaint can lead to removal; the seller may submit supporting material disputing it and the listing may be restored under the procedure. A platform’s action is not a final judicial determination of infringement.
Often evidence should be gathered before a warning alerts the other party: a lawful test purchase, invoice, dated screenshots and, where needed, evidence preservation. A warning can sometimes prompt deletion or concealment, so the sequence should suit the facts.
5. Criminal proceedings and responses to an unjustified allegation
Not every civil infringement automatically constitutes a crime. Where the elements of Article 30(1) are met, the specified trademark-counterfeiting or confusing-use acts may carry one to three years’ imprisonment and a judicial fine. The article contains other offences and conditions; protection through registration in Türkiye and the complaint requirement are important. A criminal complaint may be made to the competent public prosecutor, separately from or alongside civil proceedings, subject to the applicable requirements and deadlines.
If you receive a warning
Examine the registration, goods/services, actual use, confusion, relevant proof-of-use defence and any invalidity or cancellation grounds. Some remedies require separate proceedings rather than merely asserting an objection.
Article 154 provides an action for a declaration of non-infringement for a person with a legal interest. It describes a written request to the rights holder and a one-month response mechanism, but expressly states that prior notification is not a condition for filing. The action is not available to someone already sued for infringement by that rights holder in the circumstances specified in the article.
Sending or receiving a warning should prompt a review of evidence, deadlines and possible counterclaims. Neither an accusation nor a platform complaint proves infringement by itself.
Official sources
- Industrial Property Code No. 6769: Articles 7, 29–30 and 149–159
- Constitutional Court E. 2024/176, K. 2025/42
- Law No. 6563, Article 9
Previous part: Renewal, genuine use and loss of rights.
Originally published: 5 October 2026. References reviewed: 30 October 2026. General information on Turkish law; a specific dispute requires individual advice.