NEWSLETTER-2019-metin

262 NEWSLETTER 2019 The defendants are entitled to issue a counterclaim to the Genu- ine Use, as well, in such cases to be initiated before judicial courts. It should be emphasized that the usage of a trademark, symbolically, as the end of the five-year period is approaching (token use), is not considered to be Genuine Use. Therefore, the usages realized within the three months prior to the submission of the request are not taken into consideration. Finally, it should be noted that pursuant to the Art. 192 and Tem- porary Art. 4 of the IP Law, the revocation requests will be submitted directly to the TurkPatent after 10.01.2024. Until that date, the author- ity for revocation is used by the judicial jurisdiction. Conclusion Although the IP Law regulates the protection period for trade- marks as ten years, if a trademark is not genuinely used for five years in Turkey, the protection sphere provided by the IP Law may tighten, and trademark proprietors may lose their rights that have arisen from the registration. In the case of the absence of a Genuine Use, the pro- prietors cannot either prevent the registry of a similar sign with their registered trademarks by a third person, nor claim damages incurred due to an infringement. Furthermore, as a result of the cases filed by third parties in judicial proceedings, the trademarks may be declared invalid, or their registries may be cancelled, partly or wholly. There- fore, in order to avoid any loss of rights, trademarks should be actively used in the goods and service classes in which they are registered, and all footprints related to these uses should be maintained.