Unregistered Design, Deferred Publication and Multiple Applications: How Do You Protect a Design?

What is a design, and what is protected?

On TÜRKPATENT's information page, a design is described as the appearance of the whole or a part of a product, or of its ornamentation, resulting from the lines, shape, form, color, material or surface texture. A "product" covers every object produced by industrial means or by hand, excluding computer programs, as well as packaging, graphic symbols and typographic typefaces. To be protected, a design must fit these definitions, be new and have individual character.

• Novelty: An identical design must not have been made available to the public anywhere in the world before the filing (or priority) date.
• Individual character: The overall impression that the design produces on the informed user must differ from that of designs previously made available to the public.

Features of appearance dictated by technical function, designs that are contrary to public order or public morality, and designs that improperly use signs of sovereignty are outside the scope of protection.

Registered and unregistered design

Relying on unregistered protection can be a useful safeguard when launching a new product, but the burden of proof is on you. If you want lasting protection, file a registration application.

Before going to market: the 12-month disclosure exception and priority

• Novelty disclosure exception: If the designer, or a third party with the designer's consent, makes the design available to the public within twelve months before the filing (or priority) date, this does not affect novelty or individual character. You still need to document the date you first presented it; rather than relying on this exception and delaying the application, it is safer to file as early as possible.
• Right of priority: If you apply in Türkiye for the same design within six months from your first design application in a country that is a member of the Paris Convention or the WTO, you can rely on the date of the first application. Priority documents must be submitted to the Office within three months from the filing date.

Deferral of publication: keeping the design confidential

Normally, a registered design is published in the Bulletin and its image becomes public. If you do not want competitors to see the product before it reaches the market, you can request deferral of publication for up to 30 months with the application, counted from the filing (or priority) date. In this case:

• The design is registered and entered in the register; however, its visual representation and the documents relating to the file are kept closed to inspection by third parties.
• When the deferral period expires (or earlier, if the right holder requests it), the Office publishes the file; payment of the publication fee before publication is mandatory.
• If only a product sample was provided at the time of application, a visual representation suitable for publication must also be submitted. If these conditions are not fulfilled in time, the protection granted to the design from the filing date is deemed never to have arisen.
• To be able to bring an infringement action during the deferral period, the register and file information must have been notified to the defendant.
• Deferral of publication can also be requested for only some of the designs in a multiple application.

Multiple application: several designs together

Several designs can be registered in a single application (a multiple application), provided that an additional application fee is paid. As a rule, excluding ornamentation, each product to which the design is applied must be in the same Locarno class. The designs that make up a multiple application are still assessed separately; in other words, a deficiency in one should not prevent the registration of the others. In the current fee schedule, a fee of 1.674,90 TL is provided for the second design in the application, 318,70 TL for each of the third to fifth designs, and 760 TL for the sixth and each subsequent design; in addition, a publication fee of 280 TL is paid per publication area. For all of the amounts, see our 2026 fee schedule guide.

Opposition periods

• The applicant: May object, in writing and with reasons, to the Office's decision on the application within two months from the date of notification.
• Third parties: Within three months from the publication date of the design registration, may object to the issuance of the registration certificate by paying the fee; if the fee is not paid on time, the objection is deemed not to have been made.

How is the application made?

A design registration application is made online through EPATS, TÜRKPATENT's electronic filing system, by logging in with an e-Devlet password. The visual representations of the design, the product name and the designer's details must be prepared. You can have the entire process handled under our industrial design registration service, and for general information you can look at our design registration guide. For your file, you can request an initial consultation.

Sources and date of verification

• TÜRKPATENT — Design Information
• TÜRKPATENT — Design Transaction Fees
• Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (Legislation Information System): Art. 57, 61–63, 66–69

The information was compiled on November 14, 2026; amounts and periods may change.