The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TürkPatent) received 61,278 trademark applications, 53,645 domestic, in the January-June period this year, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said yesterday.

The office received 2,734 domestic patent and 1,322 utility model applications, Varank told Anadolu Agency (AA).

"The first six-month data indicate that we will complete 2019 at a good point in terms of industrial property applications," the minister said.

Varank emphasized domestic trademark applications accounted for 87.5% of the total applications.

According to TürkPatent data, the number of trademark applications increased by 1.4% year-on-year in the first half of 2019.

Varank noted the importance of institutions making investments in research and development (R&D) to the total number of applications.

"The number of domestic patent applications, which were dominated by large industrial corporations in previous years, has spread to a wider base in the first six months of this year, especially with the contribution of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and universities," he added.

Although there has been a slight decrease in the number of applications by firms that were among the top 10 in recent years, the minister said the total number of applications has been maintained.

"This is very important in terms of showing that more of our firms tend to innovate more," Varank said.

According to TürkPatent data, home appliance giant Arçelik ranked first with 150 patent applications, followed by leading mobile operator Turkcell with 70 applications, while Mercedes-Benz Türk and Vestel Elektronik shared third place with 30 patent applications each.

Varank pointed out that among the top 10 companies and organizations with the most patent applications, those operating in white goods, automotive and telecommunication sectors led the way, adding that these institutions constituted 15% of total domestic patent applications.

The minister added that 21 universities were among the top 50 institutions. "This shows the positive effects of our efforts to increase patent awareness in our universities," Varank said.

He said Istanbul, with 25,248 trademark applications in the first half of the year, led the way among provinces.

In this period, 21,559 design applications and 35 geographical indication applications were also made.

Last year, the office received 120,008 trademarks, 18,504 patents, 2,770 utility models and 42,083 design applications.