UK Company Documents for a Turkish Trademark

A UK company does not deal with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT) directly. Turkish law states that persons domiciled abroad are represented only by trademark or patent attorneys, so your company signs a power of attorney (vekâletname) in favour of a registered Turkish attorney.

What TURKPATENT asks of the power of attorney

Where a power of attorney must be filed, TURKPATENT requires the written original, or a copy that the attorney has certified as true to the original and that shows the certification date. The document must show that the attorney is entitled to act before TURKPATENT, the scope of the authority, and the date. Powers of attorney for natural-person and legal-entity attorneys follow the format of the samples on the TURKPATENT website. Where it considers it necessary, TURKPATENT may also ask for the original or a notarised copy, or for any other evidence.

For documents in a foreign language, TURKPATENT may request a Turkish translation of all or part of them, certified by a sworn translator (yeminli tercüman). Some filings carry their own requirements. For a trademark priority claim, the original priority document and its Turkish translation certified by a sworn translator are required. An assignment of a trademark is valid only if the contract is notarised, and a foreign-language assignment contract needs a Turkish translation certified by a sworn translator. The same translation requirement applies to foreign-language licence and pledge agreements. For a change of company name or legal form, TURKPATENT takes Turkish Trade Registry Gazette information or a document approved by the competent authorities, with a sworn Turkish translation if that document is in a foreign language.

Preparing the documents in the UK

The Turkish texts quoted for this page do not mention an apostille or consular legalisation requirement. They do not settle whether your power of attorney or Companies House certificate needs one; confirm this with TURKPATENT through your attorney.

If an apostille is needed, it comes from the Legalisation Office of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. A company certificate issued by Companies House is listed as a public registry document that can be legalised. A power of attorney is listed among documents that can be legalised once certified by a UK public official, such as a UK notary or solicitor. A certified copy of a UK document for legalisation must be made by a notary based in the UK. You apply online for either a paper apostille or an e-Apostille; the e-Apostille requires PDF files electronically signed by a UK notary or solicitor.

The Turkish translation is made in Türkiye by translators sworn before a Turkish notary. TURKPATENT decides whether the filed documents are accepted.