Introduction Founder disputes are among the most damaging legal risks for startups. A business may begin with trust, friendship, shared enthusiasm and informal promises, but when the product gains traction, investors appear, revenue increases or one founder decides to leave, the question of ownership becomes critical. Who owns the brand? Who owns the source code? […]
Introduction For startups, intellectual property is often the most important asset reviewed during a funding round. A company may have a promising product, strong founders, early customers and attractive revenue projections, but if it cannot prove that it owns or controls its intellectual property, investors may hesitate, reduce valuation, demand additional warranties or postpone closing. […]
Introduction A strong business idea may be the beginning of a successful company, product, platform, mobile application, manufacturing process or service model. However, many entrepreneurs in Turkey make the same legal mistake: they believe that the “idea” itself can be registered and fully monopolized. Turkish intellectual property law does not protect a business idea merely […]
For an e-commerce startup, the brand is often the first real business asset the market recognizes. Customers may not know the legal entity behind the business, the supply chain, or the software architecture, but they quickly learn the store name, app name, logo, domain, and marketplace identity. In Turkey, that makes brand protection a legal […]
For SaaS startups, software licensing is rarely just a commercial template exercise. In Turkey, it sits at the intersection of copyright law, contract law, consumer law, data protection, trade secrets, and sometimes competition law. A startup may think it is simply “selling subscriptions,” but the legal reality is more complex: the code may belong to […]
For Turkish startups, patent strategy is rarely just about legal protection. It is about timing, fundraising, product iteration, disclosure risk, and commercial leverage. A startup that files too early may lock in an immature invention and spend money before product-market fit is clear. A startup that files too late may lose novelty, weaken investor confidence, […]
For a startup, the name is usually the first legal asset the market notices. Long before customers understand the product architecture, the code base, or the business model, they start recognizing a word, a logo, an app name, or a service name. In Turkey, that makes pre-launch name protection a legal and commercial priority, not […]
For startups, a trademark is often the first intellectual property asset that customers actually see. Before investors understand the cap table, before users care about the code base, and before the product matures into a defensible business, the market usually meets the company through a name, logo, app name, service name, or product label. In […]
For startups in Turkey, intellectual property is rarely just a legal formality. It is often the bridge between an idea and a scalable business. A young company may build value through a product name, a software platform, a technical solution, a device design, a content ecosystem, a customer-facing app, a database, or a confidential business […]
Expanding a brand through franchising in Turkey is rarely just a commercial rollout. It is also an intellectual property project, a contract-risk project, and often a competition-law project. A franchisor entering the Turkish market may focus first on market potential, locations, consumer demand, and local partners. But the real durability of the expansion often depends […]