Information

What is a Geographical Indication, Designation of Origin and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed?

Geographical indication and designation of origin is an industrial property right describing a product originated from any region or attributable to any region due to its quality, reputation or other characteristics.

Fruit, stone, mine of any region may be different from those in the other regions or any carpet, rug, fabric, tile etc. may have attained reputation for whatsoever is the reason. Use of the name of the region with such products may be perceived by the consumers as their distinctive features from those with similar nature. The consumers may prefer the products sold with the name of such regions in lieu of the other products due to the fact that they rely on the name of the region.

In this context, geographical indications and designations of origin are dimensioned in the manner that they are shaped, packaged, purchased and sold through the traditional knowledge and they are the signs of guarantee evidencing the quality of the product, traditional production method and geographical origin.

What is designation of origin?

“Designation of origin” indicates a name of a product, the quality or characteristics of which is essentially or exclusively due to the inherent natural and human factors of a place of which the geographical boundaries have been defined. All of the steps for production, processing and preparation should take place within the defined boundaries.

Some examples are Eskişehir Meerschaum, Çelikhan Tobacco and Aegean Cotton. Such products cannot be manufactured outside their respective regions. It is because the products acquire their characteristics only in the region they are made available.

What is geographical indication?

The product may be manufactured in any other location provided that at least one of the product characteristics to which a geographical indication is linked to the defined boundary should be originated from the said region. Some examples are, Isparta Carpets, Damal Doll and Siirt Blanket. The nature, quality, reputation and other features of such products may depend on the natural raw materials or human factors which all belong to the specified location.

What is traditional speciality guaranteed products?

The products that cannot be registered as designation of origin or geographical indication can be registered as traditional speciality guaranteed products speciality guaranteed if it can be proven that the product is on the traditional market for at least 30 years. In order to register these products as traditional speciality guaranteed products, these products should have been made by either traditional production, processing, traditional composition or traditional materials.

What is the superiority of geographical indications and designations of origin over other industrial property rights?

The superiority of geographical indications and designations of origin over other industrial property rights is that it protects not only a manufacturer who applies for the registration of geographical indication and designation of origin but also all those people manufacturing under same conditions. Because geographical indications and designations of origin have some sort of anonymity, a kind of local, regional, country wise generality, the rights provided through such signs cannot be attributed to an individual or individuals.

The rights provided through geographical indication and designation of origin are not specific to any individual or individuals; it grants common utilization rights. The genuine manufacturers enjoy the protection provided through the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin in the first priority.

Why the registration of geographical indication and designation of origin and traditional speciality guaranteed products are required?

The registration of any geographical indication and designation of origin and traditional speciality guaranteed products are made due to two reasons:

Protection of the quality of the product which is the subject of geographical indication and designation of origin and provision of the production according to the known specialty.

Provision of the benefiting from the protection of the manufacturers and the region for which geographical indication and designation of origin are granted, through registration in the first priority. The consumers may prefer such products due to their reliance on the region and the products which are sold under the name of such region. Therefore it is beneficial for the people of the region to protect the name of the region which has become the symbol of quality for any given product as a geographical indication and designation of origin. A geographical indication and designation of origin adds dynamic marketing power to the product and functions as the regional or social development tool through its anonymous possession force. It is especially an important means for rural development. One of the aims and benefits of the protection through geographical indication and designation of origin are to prevent misleading the consumers by using the wordings on geographical indications and designations of origin on false products which fail to attain the necessary characteristics. Thus it assists in the protection of the consumers.

Who may apply for geographical indication and designation of origin and traditional speciality guaranteed products?

Application for registration of a geographical indication and designation of origin and traditional speciality guaranteed products may be made through the natural or legal persons who are the genuine manufacturers of the product which is the subject to geographical indication and designation of origin, consumers union or governmental units dealing with the geographical location in question.

Who may utilize geographical indications and designations of origin and names?

Geographical indication and designation of origin may be used by everybody who manufactures in according to the provisions of registration.

What are the requirements for filling an application for the registration of a geographical indication and designation of origin?

A petition for application.

If geographical indications and designations of origin are accompanied by a logo, the representation of the logo.

The receipt of the application fee payment

Description of the product and where deemed necessary technical data and documents clarifying the physical, chemical, microbiological and such other properties of the product.

Information on production techniques and conditions and particular local production techniques, if any.

Data/ documents and maps which clearly define the boundaries of the region, location or district.

The documents evidencing the properties of the product regarding the claimed designation of origin or geographical indication.

Information detailing the labelling, marking and means of using the registered designation of origin or geographical indication.

Data which clearly explain the inspection procedures in detail.

What are the conditions for foreign applications?

Geographical indications and designations of origin or traditional speciality guaranteed products subject to the application must be protected by the country of origin or and international community of which the country of origin is a member;

Control requirements specified shall be met in the country of origin;

Country of origin shall provide equal rights of protection to geographical indication and designation of origin or traditional speciality guaranteed products applications of Turkish origin.

If a geographical indication and designation of origin or traditional speciality guaranteed products application originating from a foreign country is identical to a geographical indication and designation of origin or traditional speciality guaranteed products protected in Türkiye, local use of similar names and the possibility of confusion by the consumer shall be taken into account during its examination. The use of such geographical indications and designations of origin and traditional speciality guaranteed products shall only be allowed under the condition that the name of the country of origin is indicated clearly and visibly on the label.

Where to apply for the registration of a geographical indication and designation of origin and traditional speciality guaranteed products name?

Those who wish to register a geographical indication and designation of origin may apply to the address of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office at Hipodrom Caddesi No: 13, Yenimahalle/ANKARA-TÜRKİYE.

The sole address for those who wish to register a geographical indication and designation of origin is Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

If no objection is filed within 3 months from the date of publication of the application in the Official Bulletin, the application is protected as of the date of publication.

What are the names that cannot be registered as a geographical indication and designation of origin or traditional speciality guaranteed products name?

There are some specifications on registering geographical indications and designations of origin. The followings cannot be registered as geographical indications and designations of origin:

Names which do not comply with the definition of geographical indication and designation of origin ,

Names which have become the generic name of the product,

Names of plant varieties, animal breeds or similar names which are likely to mislead the public as to the true origin of the product,

Names contrary to the public order and general principles of morality,

Names which are not protected or the protection of which has expired or not used in the countries who established the World Trade Organization and who are the parties to the Paris Convention.

The followings cannot be registered as traditional speciality guaranteed product names:

Names which do not comply with the definition of the traditional speciality guaranteed product name,

Names that describe the general characteristics of the product,

Names that may mislead the public about the quality of the product,

Signs contrary to the public order and general principles of morality,

Names and signs which are not protected or the protection of which has expired or not used in the countries who established the World Trade Organization and who are the parties to the Paris Convention.

What is the registration procedure of a geographical indication and designation of origin and traditional speciality guaranteed product name?

The application petition for the registration of a geographical indications and designations of origin and traditional speciality guaranteed product names are evaluated by the Office. Where deemed necessary, opinions from the specialist institutions are to be sought. The application is published in the Official Bulletin after the evaluation. The period for raising an opposition is three months from the date of publication in the Official Bulletin. The oppositions raised by the third parties within the publication period are to be forwarded to the one or more specialist institution(s) along with the grounds of such oppositions. The application may be registered, amended or refused as per the comments received. If the application is refused, it is to be published in the Official Bulletin.

However, the applications which were made before 10.01.2017 are being processed with Decree Law No 555. Opposition period for these applications are treated as six months.

Why is the protection provided through registration so important?

The aim of the registration of geographical indication and designation of origin is to protect the products which attained reputation depending on their local characteristics such as production method and origin etc. It is a well-known fact that almost all of the province even the districts in Türkiye have been the source of production of a product and attained reputation for such product.

Naturalness, tradition, sustainable quality, regional development and competition in the global markets are amongst the added value of geographical indications and designations of origin.

What are the rights provided through registration of a geographical indication and designation of origin?

Any direct and indirect commercial use of a registered name in respect of products which are similar or comparable to the products registered or any use of the name which would exploit the reputation of the registered name are prevented.

Any usage of the name through indicating a real geographical place as a word but which conveys a false impression as to its origin; or of the translated name; or usage of the name accompanied by expressions such as 'style', 'type', 'method', 'as produced in' or other similar descriptions is prevented.

Any use of false or misleading indication as to the origin, nature or essential qualities of the product on the packaging, on advertising material or on documents relating to the product is prevented.

Any packaging of the product in a container liable to convey false impression as to its origin or any other practice liable to mislead the public are prevented.

What is the relationship between geographical indication and designation of origin and trademark?

The trademark owner is granted individual property rights through registration of the trademark. As for geographical indication and designation of origin, no individual property right is granted. Geographical indication and designation of origin provides joint utilisation of the rights to everybody who manufactures in according to the provisions of registration.

Is geographical indication and designation of origin registered in Türkiye valid all through the world?

Geographical indications and designations of origin registered in Türkiye are valid only within the boundaries of Türkiye. For protection in abroad, application should be made in each country in accordance with the laws of the country in question.

Who inspects the geographical indications and designations of origin?

The inspection commission is specified in the records kept for the registered geographical indication and designation of origin. The said commission is made up of the producers or the processors of the said product and irrespective of its legal form any association, union or such other organisation shall be capable of employing sufficient number of personnel, equipment and other facilities to inspect in a detailed manner. The production, marketing, labelling and specifications on the registered geographical indication and designation of origin shall be regularly inspected. For inspection purposes, co-operation with the experts and impartial organisations /institutions is possible.

Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock has undertaken the main inspection responsibility as to the foodstuffs and agricultural products since 2010.

Those who enjoy the rights arising from registration of geographical indication and designation of origin shall have the right to institute civil and criminal proceedings against the infringing party.

What is a Geographical Indication, Designation of Origin and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed?Geographical indication and designation of origin is an industrial property right describing a productoriginated from any region or attributable to any region due to its quality, reputation or othercharacteristics.Fruit, stone, mine of any region may be different from those in the other regions or any carpet, rug,fabric, tile etc. may have attained reputation for whatsoever is the reason. Use of the name of the regionwith such products may be perceived by the consumers as their distinctive features from those withsimilar nature. The consumers may prefer the products sold with the name of such regions in lieu of theother products due to the fact that they rely on the name of the region.In this context, geographical indications and designations of origin are dimensioned in the manner thatthey are shaped, packaged, purchased and sold through the traditional knowledge and they are the signsof guarantee evidencing the quality of the product, traditional production method and geographicalorigin.What is geographical indication?The product may be manufactured in any other location provided that at least one of the productcharacteristics to which a geographical indication is linked to the defined boundary should be originatedfrom the said region. Some examples are, Isparta Carpets, Damal Doll and Siirt Blanket. The nature,quality, reputation and other features of such products may depend on the natural raw materials orhuman factors which all belong to the specified location.What is designation of origin?“Designation of origin” indicates a name of a product, the quality or characteristics of which is essentiallyor exclusively due to the inherent natural and human factors of a place of which the geographicalboundaries have been defined. All of the steps for production, processing and preparation should takeplace within the defined boundaries.Some examples are Eskişehir Meerschaum, Çelikhan Tobacco and Aegean Cotton. Such products cannotbe manufactured outside their respective regions. It is because the products acquire their characteristicsonly in the region they are made available.What is traditional speciality guaranteed products?The products that cannot be registered as designation of origin or geographical indication can beregistered as traditional speciality guaranteed products speciality guaranteed if it can be proven that theproduct is on the traditional market for at least 30 years. In order to register these products astraditional speciality guaranteed products, these products should have been made by either traditionalproduction, processing, traditional composition or traditional materials.What is the superiority of geographical indications and designations of origin over other industrialproperty rights?The superiority of geographical indications and designations of origin over other industrial propertyrights is that it protects not only a manufacturer who applies for the registration of geographicalindication and designation of origin but also all those people manufacturing under same conditions.Because geographical indications and designations of origin have some sort of anonymity, a kind of local,regional, country wise generality, the rights provided through such signs cannot be attributed to anindividual or individuals.The rights provided through geographical indication and designation of origin are not specific to anyindividual or individuals; it grants common utilization rights. The genuine manufacturers enjoy theprotection provided through the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin inthe first priority.Why the registration of geographical indication, designation of origin and traditional specialityguaranteed are required?The registration of any geographical indication and designation of origin and traditional specialityguaranteed are made due to two reasons:1.Protection of the quality of the product which is the subject of geographical indication and designationof origin and provision of the production according to the known specialty.2.Provision of the benefiting from the protection of the manufacturers and the region for whichgeographical indication and designation of origin are granted, through registration in the first priority.The consumers may prefer such products due to their reliance on the region and the products which aresold under the name of such region. Therefore it is beneficial for the people of the region to protect thename of the region which has become the symbol of quality for any given product as a geographicalindication and designation of origin. A geographical indication and designation of origin adds dynamicmarketing power to the product and functions as the regional or social development tool through itsanonymous possession force. It is especially an important means for rural development. One of the aimsand benefits of the protection through geographical indication and designation of origin are to preventmisleading the consumers by using the wordings on geographical indications and designations of originon false products which fail to attain the necessary characteristics. Thus it assists in the protection of theconsumers.Who may apply for geographical indication, designation of origin and traditional specialityguaranteed?Application for registration of a geographical indication, designation of origin and traditional specialityguaranteed may be made through the natural or legal persons who are the genuine manufacturers ofthe product which is the subject to geographical indication and designation of origin, consumers union orgovernmental units dealing with the geographical location in question.Who may utilize geographical indications and designations of origin ?Geographical indication and designation of origin may be used by everybody who manufactures inaccording to the provisions of registration.What are the requirements for filling an application for the registration of a geographical indicationand designation of origin?Application form.If geographical indications and designations of origin are accompanied by a logo, the representation ofthe logo.The receipt or information of the application fee paymentDescription of the product and where deemed necessary technical data and documents clarifying thephysical, chemical, microbiological and such other properties of the product.Information on production techniques and conditions and particular local production techniques, if any.Data/ documents and if necessary maps which clearly define the boundaries of the region, location ordistrict.The documents evidencing the properties of the product regarding the claimed designation of origin orgeographical indication.Information detailing the labelling, marking and means of using the registered designation of origin orgeographical indication.Data which clearly explain the inspection procedures in detail.What are the conditions for foreign applications?Geographical indications and designations of origin or traditional speciality guaranteed subject to theapplication must be protected by the country of origin or and international community of which thecountry of origin is a member;Control requirements specified shall be met in the country of origin;Country of origin shall provide equal rights of protection to geographical indication and designation oforigin or traditional speciality guaranteed products applications of Turkish origin.If a geographical indication and designation of origin or traditional speciality guaranteed applicationoriginating from a foreign country is identical to a geographical indication and designation of origin ortraditional speciality guaranteed protected in Türkiye, local use of similar names and the possibility ofconfusion by the consumer shall be taken into account during its examination. The use of suchgeographical indications and designations of origin and traditional speciality guaranteed shall only beallowed under the condition that the name of the country of origin is indicated clearly and visibly on thelabel.Where to apply for the registration of a geographical indication and designation of origin andtraditional speciality guaranteed name?Those who wish to register a geographical indication and designation of origin may apply to the addressof the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office at Hipodrom Caddesi No: 13, Yenimahalle/ANKARA TÜRKİYE.The sole address for those who wish to register a geographical indication and designation of origin isTurkish Patent and Trademark Office.If no objection is filed within 3 months from the date of publication of the application in the OfficialBulletin, the application is protected as of the date of application.What are the names that cannot be registered as a geographical indication and designation of origin ortraditional speciality guaranteed products name?There are some specifications on registering geographical indications and designations of origin. Thefollowings cannot be registered as geographical indications and designations of origin: Names which do not comply with the definition of geographical indication and designation of origin , Names which have become the generic name of the product, Names of plant varieties, animal breeds or similar names which are likely to mislead the public as tothe true origin of the product, Names contrary to the public order and general principles of morality, Names which are not protected or the protection of which has expired or not used in the countrieswho established the World Trade Organization and who are the parties to the Paris Convention.The followings cannot be registered as traditional speciality guaranteed : Names which do not comply with the definition of the traditional speciality guaranteed productname, Names that describe the general characteristics of the product, Names that may mislead the public about the quality of the product, Signs contrary to the public order and general principles of morality, Names and signs which are not protected or the protection of which has expired or not used in thecountries who established the World Trade Organization and who are the parties to the ParisConvention.What is the registration procedure of a geographical indication, designation of origin and traditionalspeciality guaranteed?The application form for the registration of a geographical indication, designation of origin andtraditional speciality guaranteed are evaluated by the Office. Where deemed necessary, opinions fromthe specialist institutions are to be sought. The application is published in the Official Bulletin after theevaluation. The period for raising an opposition is three months from the date of publication in theOfficial Bulletin. The oppositions raised by the third parties within the publication period are to beforwarded to the one or more specialist institution(s) along with the grounds of such oppositions. Theapplication may be registered, amended or refused as per the comments received. If the application isrefused, it is to be published in the Official Bulletin.However, the applications which were made before 10.01.2017 are being processed with Decree Law No555. Opposition period for these applications are treated as six months.Why is the protection provided through registration so important?The aim of the registration of geographical indication and designation of origin is to protect the productswhich attained reputation depending on their local characteristics such as production method and originetc. It is a well-known fact that almost all of the province even the districts in Türkiye have been thesource of production of a product and attained reputation for such product.Naturalness, tradition, sustainable quality, regional development and competition in the global marketsare amongst the added value of geographical indications and designations of origin.What are the rights provided through registration of a geographical indication and designation oforigin?Any direct and indirect commercial use of a registered name in respect of products which are similar orcomparable to the products registered or any use of the name which would exploit the reputation of theregistered name are prevented.Any usage of the name through indicating a real geographical place as a word but which conveys a falseimpression as to its origin; or of the translated name; or usage of the name accompanied by expressionssuch as 'style', 'type', 'method', 'as produced in' or other similar descriptions is prevented.Any use of false or misleading indication as to the origin, nature or essential qualities of the product onthe packaging, on advertising material or on documents relating to the product is prevented.Any packaging of the product in a container liable to convey false impression as to its origin or any otherpractice liable to mislead the public are prevented.What is the relationship between geographical indication and designation of origin and trademark?The trademark owner is granted individual property rights through registration of the trademark. As forgeographical indication and designation of origin, no exclusive property right is granted. Geographicalindication and designation of origin provides joint utilisation of the rights to everybody whomanufactures in according to the provisions of registration.Is geographical indication and designation of origin registered in Türkiye valid all through the world?Geographical indications and designations of origin registered in Türkiye are valid only within theboundaries of Türkiye. For protection in abroad, application should be made in each country inaccordance with the laws of the country in question.Who inspects the geographical indications and designations of origin?The inspection commission is specified in the records kept for the registered geographical indication anddesignation of origin. The said commission is made up of the producers or the processors of the saidproduct and irrespective of its legal form any association, union or such other organisation shall becapable of employing sufficient number of personnel, equipment and other facilities to inspect in adetailed manner. The production, marketing, labelling and specifications on the registered geographicalindication and designation of origin shall be regularly inspected. For inspection purposes, co-operationwith the experts and impartial organisations /institutions is possible.Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock has undertaken the main inspection responsibility as to thefoodstuffs and agricultural products since 2010.Those who enjoy the rights arising from registration of geographical indication and designation of originshall have the right to institute proceedings against the infringing party.