An In-depth Analysis of Inventorship of AI and Turkey’s Position
In recent legal debates, the patentability of AI-generated inventions has been contentious. Historically, only humans have been considered inventors, anchored in notions of personhood and intellect. Yet, in a bold move, South Africa and Australia’s Federal Court recognized AI, specifically DABUS, as a potential inventor in 2021, defying conventional views. Proponents argue that this accommodates modern innovation trends, while sceptics raise concerns about ownership rights… »
Practical Guideline on Immediate Actions for Foreign Companies Facing Commercial Litigation in Turkey
Introduction Given the complex, competitive and contested course of commercial life, the odds are most businesses will face, at one stage or another, a commercial dispute raised by a business partner (eg, a customer, distributor or supplier etc,). Some of these disputes can be resolved peacefully and amicably, but others may escalate to the court level. The latter can be particularly difficult to manage for global companies operating in multiple states, as cross border claims… »
Regulatory Update in Turkey: Prolonged Exclusion of Specific Losses in Capital and Equity Assessments
The Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles Regarding Implementation of Article 376 of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 ("Implementation Communiqué") was amended on December 26, 2020, and it was regulated that certain loss items will not be considered in the calculations made in terms of capital loss or negative equity until January 1, 2023. Although the Ministry of Trade indicated in its statements on various occasions that this exception was introduced as a… »
PTO Prepares for Administrative Revocation of Trademarks
Article 26 of the Industrial Property Code, which grants the PTO the authority to revoke trademarks, will come into force on 10 January 2024 The PTO has recently released a draft regulation for comment The draft regulation includes procedural details on how revocation requests will be made before the PTO Background The Industrial Property Code No 6769 (IP Code), which entered into force on 10 January 2017, provides that the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has… »
Is Alternative Dispute Resolution Effective Enough for “.tr” Domain Names?
This article discusses the alternative dispute resolution mechanism for ".tr" domain names in Türkiye. It highlights the efficiency of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism and addresses some concerns over the transparency of proceedings. TRABIS (".tr" Network Information System), established by the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority ("BTK"), became operational on September 14, 2022 and undertook the management of ".tr" domain names. Upon… »
A Practical Overview of Disclosure of Trade Secret as a Criminal Offense
Trade secrets bear critical value for companies to stand out and become distinct from their competitors in the competitive market conditions. Indeed, companies are often exposed to significant risks arising from the disclosure of trade secrets due to misconduct of certain individuals having access to these secrets. Therefore, confidentiality of these secrets, which bear commercial value and provide a competitive advantage, is almost crucial for companies to survive. In this… »
Minority Shareholders' Rights in Joint Stock Companies
In order to prevent the majority shareholders, who hold the superiority of capital and voting in the management of joint stock companies, from executing unfair and unjust acts against the minority shareholders and violating the rights of the minority shareholders, the legislator has granted some special rights to the minority shareholders and allowed them to protect their interests against the decisions taken with the influence of the majority. Thus, the balance of interests… »
Guideline on Scientific Meetings on Medical Devices Updated
On 22 August 2023, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (Agency) announced an updated Guideline on Scientific Meetings and Educational Activities to be Held in Accordance with the Regulation on Sales, Advertising and Promotion of Medical Devices (Turkish language) (Guideline) on its official website. The Guideline replaced the previous version dated 15 November 2022. The Guideline was updated shortly after the revision made to the Regulation on Sales, Advertising… »
Work Bearing The Characteristics of Its Author - “Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım”
The decision of the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 24.05.2022 and numbered 2020/8509 E. 2022/3996 K. has been enlightening both in terms of the examination of the distinctive signs of the work and the works bearing the characteristics of the author, and in terms of the amendments made to the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works, especially regarding cinematographic works. A. Summary of the Case The lawsuit subject to the decision was filed by the… »
Healthcare Regulation 2024 in Turkey
1. Organisation, financing and structure of the healthcare system Organisation How is healthcare in your jurisdiction organised? What is the role of government? The healthcare system is governed principally by the Fundamental Law on Healthcare Services No. 3359 and dated 15 May 1987, which furnishes the Ministry of Health (MoH) with the authority to issue healthcare-related regulations and establish a healthcare system enabling each and every person living in Turkey… »
OneTrust Data Guidance Turkey - Cookies & Similar Technologies
Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş, Yalçın Umut Talay and Seda Öztürk have contributed to Data Guidance Turkey - Cookies & Similar Technologies, which is published by OneTrust. OneTrus Data Guidance Turkey - Cookies & Similar Technologies provides comprehensive guidance on the legal framework, regulatory authority guidance, definitions, consent management, and cookie information requirements concerning the use of cookies and similar technologies in Turkey. The guidance stresses… »
The Guideline on Consumer Reviews Has Been Published
The Guideline on Consumer Reviews (“Guideline”), enacted by the Advertisement Board at the meeting dated 12.09.2023 and numbered 337, has recently been published. The purpose of the Guideline is to inform advertisers, advertising agencies, media organizations and persons, institutions and organizations engaged in advertising activities on fundamental principles regarding consumer reviews, obligation of informing consumers and procedure for checking reviews before publication… »