I am registered but still infringed
My trademark is registered, but nobody is stopping anyone. Registration is not a shield; it is an entitlement. It does not protect on its own — it gives you the right to act. 📜
Most businesses file the certificate away once it arrives. The real work starts after the document.
Short answer: registration acquires meaning through monitoring and use. An unmonitored trademark cannot even notice an infringement. 🔍
What registration does and does not do
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- What it does
- What it does not do
- The class limit
- The country limit
This distinction prevents disappointment. ⚖️
What it does
Priority of use in specified classes, the right to oppose similar applications and legal grounds against infringement. ✅
What it does not do
Nobody scans on your behalf, infringement does not stop automatically, and it does not extend to other classes or countries. 🚫
The class limit
Protection is limited to the goods and services groups you applied for. As activity widens, the scope is updated. 🗂️
The country limit
Registration is territorial. With exports and overseas sales, separate applications are needed. 🌍
How is infringement noticed?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Application monitoring
- Marketplace scanning
- Search and social scanning
- Field reports
Not by itself, but through monitoring. 🔎
Application monitoring
Similar applications are published and can be opposed within a set period. Miss the window and it gets harder. 📅
Marketplace scanning
If you sell products, search your brand name regularly. Infringement usually shows up in listings. 🛒
Search and social scanning
New pages and accounts carrying your brand name. A monthly check is enough. 🌐
Field reports
Dealers, customers and field staff are the fastest source; where they report it must be written down. 📣
The sequence once you see it
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Step 1: evidence
- Step 2: scope and type
- Step 3: the fastest channel
- Step 4: the legal route
Four steps, in order. 🪜
Step 1: evidence
Screenshots, links, dates and where possible a sample. Proof is gathered on day one. 📸
Step 2: scope and type
Direct or similar; local or widespread? The distinction sits in the copying guide. 🔍
Step 3: the fastest channel
Platform reporting or documented contact. Most cases close right here. 🌐
Step 4: the legal route
A formal notice and, if needed, litigation. At this stage a lawyer comes in. ⚖️
Keeping the registration alive
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Proof of use
- A renewal calendar
- Scope updates
- Ownership records
A certificate is not filed and forgotten. 🔄
Proof of use
Invoices, packaging, advertising and publication archives showing actual use are accumulated. 🗄️
A renewal calendar
Protection must be renewed at the end of its term. That date goes into the company’s calendar. 📅
Scope updates
If a new product group or service has been added, the registration should reflect reality. 🗂️
Ownership records
Company name, address and transfer changes are recorded; incomplete records cause trouble in proceedings. 📋
Three common mistakes
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Mistake 1: shelving the certificate
- Mistake 2: filing in too few classes
- Mistake 3: mistaking a logo for a registration
- The sentence that cuts all three
All three weaken protection. 🚧
Mistake 1: shelving the certificate
For an unmonitored brand, registration is an unused entitlement. 📄
Mistake 2: filing in too few classes
Cutting classes to save cost leaves an open door as the business grows. 🚪
Mistake 3: mistaking a logo for a registration
Logo design is one thing, trademark registration another; the difference sits in the brand, name and logo guide. 🎨
The sentence that cuts all three
This: “Registration is not a shield, it is an entitlement to be used.” ✅
What should I do today?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Step 1: open your registration file
- Step 2: set up a monthly scan
- Step 3: write the reporting route
- If you want help
Three steps, one day. 🪜
Step 1: open your registration file
Which classes, which date, renewal when? Those three facts should be known. 📋
Step 2: set up a monthly scan
Brand-name search, marketplace and social check. Half an hour suffices. 🔎
Step 3: write the reporting route
If the field sees an infringement, who do they tell and how? One line makes the difference. 📣
If you want help
Let us set up your monitoring routine: use the consult your expert form. For your digital assets see the brand digital audit; the whole sits on the brand consulting page. 🎯
Related reading from the archive: registration and fees · choosing a brand consultant.
📝 Notes From the Field
A business received its registration and filed it away. Two years later it emerged that a similar mark had been registered with the opposition window already passed. The process became far harder and more expensive. Half an hour of scanning each month would have meant never opening that file.
📖 Short Glossary
Class: the goods and services group protection covers. Application monitoring: regular checking of newly published filings. Proof of use: documents showing the mark is actually in use. Renewal: the extension made when the protection term expires.
⚡ Quick Summary
Registration does not protect by itself; it gives you the right to act. 📜 Protection is limited by class and country. Infringement is only seen through monitoring: applications, marketplaces, search and field reports. The registration is kept alive with proof of use, a renewal calendar and scope updates.
🎯 Next Step
Let us set up your monitoring routine: use the consult your expert form. The copying side sits in the copying guide; for an asset sweep see the brand digital audit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Prior use can be protected in some circumstances, but the burden of proof falls on you and the process drags. Registration makes the same protection far stronger and faster.
Classes covering today’s activity plus a one-to-two-year plan strike a reasonable balance. Since each class carries cost, unrealistically broad coverage is not right either.
It does not. Monitoring applications and filing oppositions is the trademark owner’s responsibility, which is why monitoring must be set up as a routine task.
Source: Turkish Patent and Trademark Office — registration and renewal