No matter how high the technical quality of a product is, the element that captures the consumer at first glance and drives the purchasing decision is its aesthetic appearance. Design Law protects the external appearance, ornamentation, lines, and unique character of your product, preventing imitators from making unfair profits off your aesthetic vision.

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Commonly known in the industry and among the public as "Model Registration" or "Industrial Design Protection," this process grants you ownership of the "visual identity" across a wide range of sectors, from furniture to textile patterns, and from packaging to web interfaces. Failing to register your original design carries the risk of that design entering the "public domain" and becoming free for anyone to copy.

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At Goklu Law & IP Firm, we go beyond standard application processes. We provide in-depth services at every stage of this field, from analyzing technical criteria such as "novelty" and "individual character" to handling ownership disputes over employee designs and cancellation lawsuits against Board decisions.

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• Registration & Opposition Proceedings before TURKPATENT: Before filing, we conduct a preliminary assessment to determine whether your design meets the global criteria of "novelty" and "individual character." Filing the design in the correct classes (Locarno Classification) and with the correct representations (perspective, plan, section views, etc.) is vital for the scope of protection; we meticulously manage this entire registration process before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

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• Opposition Management: We prepare opposition files against applications published in the Official Industrial Design Bulletin that imitate your design, based on grounds of "lack of novelty" and "lack of individual character." Similarly, we defend your design against unfair oppositions filed against your registration application.

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• Design Portfolio Management & Strategy: We track the 5-year protection periods of your registered designs and perform timely renewal procedures. While keeping your portfolio up-to-date, we monitor competitors' new design applications to detect potential infringements at an early stage and provide proactive protection.

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• Actions for Annulment of Board Decisions: Decisions rendered by the Re-examination and Evaluation Board (Board) of TURKPATENT regarding the refusal of a design application or the rejection of an opposition are final. We effectively handle these cancellation lawsuits, which must be filed before the competent Ankara Civil Courts of Intellectual and Industrial Rights within 2 months of notification, leveraging our location advantage in Ankara where the Institute is based.

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• Design Invalidation Actions: We file "Invalidation Actions" to erase designs from the registry that imitate your design but have managed to get registered. Likewise, in invalidation lawsuits filed against your registered design, we undertake your defense by proving the originality of your design and its difference from prior art.

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• Design Infringement Actions: In cases of unauthorized copying of your visual identity or the sale of fake/imitation products in the physical market or online; we take urgent legal action for the determination and cessation of infringement, as well as the seizure and destruction of the products. We expertly manage pecuniary and non-pecuniary compensation lawsuits to indemnify damages arising from market loss, deprived profit, and damage to brand reputation.

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• Employee Designs & Ownership: We resolve disputes regarding the ownership of designs created by in-house personnel or freelance designers. We draft designer contracts in compliance with the legislation, specifically regarding "remuneration" and "transfer of rights" clauses.

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• Unregistered Design Protection: Frequently encountered in the fashion sector, we provide legal protection based on Unfair Competition and IPC provisions against direct copying (identical copies) under the "Unregistered Design Protection" scope, which provides protection for 3 years from the date the design is first presented to the public.

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• Legal Opinion & Risk Analysis (Freedom to Operate): Before launching a product or starting production, we conduct a risk analysis to determine whether the design infringes on existing registered designs in the market and draw a legal roadmap to protect you from potential compensation lawsuits.

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• Design-Related Agreements: We draft Licensing, Assignment, and Designer Agreements to maximize the commercial value of your designs. We negotiate contracts in favor of our clients, particularly to clarify ownership processes for designs created by employees or upon order.

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• Arbitration & Mediation: We represent our clients in mediation and arbitration processes, which provide faster solutions as alternatives to judicial proceedings in design disputes.