Intellectual Property Rights

1. What is the difference between patents and copyrights?

Article 266 Section 9 of the Law on Patents No. 25/1995 states that the Law on patents pending at the relevant time in the United Kingdom shall also apply to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as long as the general requirements are met. Just as in the Copyright Law, although the TRNC law on patents is more detailed than the relevant law governing copyrights, it is obvious that the Patents Act in force in the UK should be implemented in the TRNC on the grounds that it is insufficient. Similarly, Article 266 Section 9(3) states that For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘priority date’ shall refer to Article 5 of the 1949 Patents Act of the United Kingdom in the application of a patent in the United Kingdom.

As it can be understood from this point, UK 1949 Patent Law can be applied in the TRNC if the necessary requirements have been met.

The patent, unlike copyright, is a registration document for inventions, not ideas and artistic works. Although the invention is neither disclosed in Article 266, nor in the 1949 UK Patent Law, the UK Law 1949 states that a patent can only be registered by certain persons. Accordingly, the patent may be registered by the real or first person that came up with the invention or discovery, or the attorney of the real or first person who claims to have come up with the invention or discovery in the first place or the said person with his/her representative.[¹²]

2. Who can register the patents in the TRNC?

According to the TRNC Patents Act, a person who has acquired a patent right in the United Kingdom or a person who has obtained such a right from a person who has the right to a patent with another right granted by the law, shall be entitled to register their patent in the TRNC.[³]

3. How to apply for registration of patents in TRNC?

Application can be made by the use of Form No. Pat 2 which can be obtained from the Office of the Registrar.

The applicant does not have to be the patent owner in order to register a patent in the TRNC. The patent owner can also nominate a proxy who is duly authorized by Form No. Pat 1 to apply. If the applicant resides in a place other than the TRNC, the forms submitted to the Registrar of Companies must be approved by the TRNC representative in the country/city of residence of the applicant, if there is one, or by the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey or the consulate or by an Apostil stamp. In addition, the applicant who resides outside the TRNC must appoint someone in the TRNC with a notification address in the TRNC. Form No. Pat. 12 must be filled and approved by the relevant authorities.

According to the related Law, it should be noted that the two documents of the United Kingdom Patent Office which need to be attached to Form No. Pat. 2, (the technical drawings, if any, and the Registration Document to be issued by the same Office) must be the documents issued exclusively by the United Kingdom Patent Office. The Registration Certificate to be issued by the United Kingdom Patent Office must also be approved through an apostille stamp or by the TRNC representative or in the embassy of the Republic of Turkey in the UK.