Türkiye IP fee updates and Harare Protocol developments
Türkiye Fees
The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT) implemented a new IP fee schedule as of January 1, 2025. The amendments to fees are applicable to patents, utility models, trademarks, and industrial designs, and constitute an average increase of 44% across the board.
Patents/Utility Models
Among some of the most substantial amendments, the fee for filing a patent or utility model application has risen to 520.00 TRY from 360.00 TRY.
Additionally, the European Patent Validation fee has increased from 14,360.00 TRY to 20,670.00 TRY, and the fee for a PCT national phase entry in Türkiye from 9,350.00 TRY to 13,460.00 TRY.
Trademarks
The filing fee for a trademark application has risen to 2,350.00 TRY from 1,630.00 TRY for a trademark including one or two classes, and a new fee of 2,610.00 TRY has been introduced for the third and each additional class thereafter.
Further fee amendments include the trademark renewal fee, which has risen from 5,010.00 TRY to 7,210.00 TRY.
A new additional renewal fee of 600 TRY has also been introduced for the third and each subsequent class. For trademarks renewed after the expiration of the registration, the renewal fee for the first and second class constitutes 12,620 TRY, and the new additional renewal fee of 1,050 TRY now applies to the third and each subsequent class for renewal.
Moreover, the fee for the registration of a trademark has increased to 5,790.00 TRY from 4,020.00 TRY.
Industrial Designs
The fees for the registration and maintenance of industrial design rights have also increased, with the fee for the filing of a design application having inflated from 1,200.00 TRY to 1,730.00 TRY, and the renewal fee for one design having risen from 3,670.00 TRY to 5,280.00 TRY.
Harare Protocol
Amendments to the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs, administered by the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), entered into force as of March 1, 2025. The updated Protocol introduces changes to the implementing regulations, as well as to the relevant forms and fees.
The Harare Protocol allows applicants to obtain protection of their patents, utility models, and industrial designs with the ARIPO through the filing of a single application for one IP type, designating any, or all, of the Contracting States which are parties to the Protocol.
Among the most significant amendments to the Protocol, applicants are now able to add further designated countries for protection to their patent application, so long as this is done prior to the publication of the patent. This option is not available for PCT regional phase patent applications before the ARIPO.
Certain deadlines have also been altered under the amended Protocol, with the period of time allowed for the payment of patent grant and publication fees, as well as the time limit for a designated State to inform the ARIPO that a patent has been refused protection in its territory, having been amended.
As such, the period of time allowed for both procedures now constitutes 4 months. Further, should an applicant file a response to a patent refusal notification from a designated State, and no response from that State is received within a period of 2 months, the application will be deemed refused in that jurisdiction. Lastly, the period of time allowed for the filing of a response to a Search and Substantive Examination Report has decreased from 6 months to 4 months.
In instances where a designated State submits written communication to the ARIPO that the patent will not have effect in its territory, the patent applicant is henceforth permitted to convert the refused ARIPO patent to a national patent application in that same designated State. The ARIPO will then transmit the request for application conversion to the IP Office of the designated State.
In the event that a designated State partially refuses the ARIPO patent application in line with the relevant national IP legislation, the applicant is permitted to file a response to such refusal with an amended application excluding the refused elements of the application in the designated State.
When filing for industrial design protection, a Statement of Novelty is now a requirement for an application to be considered. This Statement should be submitted to the ARIPO within a 2-month period following the application filing date.
Moreover, in circumstances whereby an industrial design application is transmitted to a designated State for optional substantive examination following successful formal examination by the ARIPO, that designated State is now required to complete such examination within a period of 4 months from the receipt of the transmittal.
Fees
Alongside the procedural alterations, the fees in relation to IP matters filed with the ARIPO have been amended across the board. The new fees constitute significant price rises in comparison to the previous fee schedule, and entered into force on March 1, 2025.
As per the alterations, the designation fee for an ARIPO patent application has risen by approx. 18% from 85 USD to 100 USD per designated State. Further patent fees that have been amended include the fee for the request of substantive examination, which has increased by approx. 67% from 600 USD to 1000 USD. Moreover, both the publication fee, and the fee for the grant of a patent, have risen respectively by approx. 43% from 350 USD to 500 USD.
The surcharge fee in relation to the filing of additional patent claims has risen by 100% from 50 USD to 100 USD for claims 11-59, and a new fee of 200 USD has been introduced for the filing of the 60th claim and each claim thereafter. A new fee of 1000 USD has also been introduced in relation to requests for the early grant and publication of a patent.
The new fee schedule also means that instead of applying the previous surcharge of 100 USD per late renewal, this surcharge will now be calculated at a rate of 40% of the total renewal fee which is due.
In addition to the increase in fees, alterations to the procedures for the enforcement of patent costs have also been implemented. As per these changes, if an applicant wishes to make voluntary and justified amendments to the patent description, claims, or drawings, in cases where this has not been recommended by the ARIPO, or if the amendments are to be applied to claims which have not been examined, the applicant will need to pay a re-examination fee, as well as the re-publication fee if the post-grant amendments are accepted by the ARIPO. Payment of the re-examination and re-publication fees will also be required should the applicant opt to introduce any limiting post-grant amendments.
With regard to industrial designs, the fee for the filing of an application has risen by 100% from 40 USD to 80 USD, as has the designation fee which increased from 10 USD to 20 USD per State. The cost in relation to the registration and publication of an industrial design has also doubled, rising from 75 USD to 150 USD.
The annual maintenance fees for designs have seen multiple amendments, despite not having been altered for patents. These renewal fee increases impact all but the 1st and 14th years respectively, with the fee for the 5th year of renewal, for example, rising by approx. 67% from 18 USD to 30 USD, the 10th by approx. 53% from 36 USD to 55 USD, and the 13th from 54 USD to 60 USD. Moreover, the surcharge for the late payment of renewal fees for designs now constitutes 30% of the renewal fee due, as opposed to the previous set fee of 15 USD per renewal.
The amendments to the Harare Protocol signify a move toward a more advanced procedural system for ARIPO IP filings, which, in turn, is hoped to enhance the quality of services provided by the regional IPO and encourage further filings.