Turkey has acceded to Patent Co-operation Treaty ("PCT"), as effective to the PCT applications after 1 January 1996. PCT applications before 1 January 1996, will not benefit from this accession even if Turkey may have been designated.

The PCT came into force in Turkey as of 1 January 1996. After 1 January 1996 Turkey may be designated in the PCT patent applications to WIPO for the coverage of the protection. Applications prior to 1.1.1996 may not benefit from the accession to PCT even if Turkey may have been designated.

As a result of its accession the PCT, The Turkish Patent Institute ("TPE") expects a considerable increase in the number of patent applications within the year 1997 and 1998.

As from 1 January 1996, Turkey also acceded to the Nice Treaty for the international classification of the goods. and to the Vienna Convention on the classification of the design trademarks. Turkey also acceded to the Strasbourg Treaty on International Patent Classification as effective from 1 October 1996.

Accession to these treaties and the newly passed IP Laws bring Turkey to the forefront of IP protection in the world. The practitioners are keen to develop the practice according to the practices world-wide. The Law foresees specially designed courts to handle IP Matters which should help to establish a strong enforcement of the Law.

The content of this article is to provide only a general information on the subject. Legal advice should be sought for any specific circumstances.