Overview of Turkish IP Protection: Navigating Challenges
Turkish IP legislation is mostly in compliance with EU legislation. With the adoption of IP Code No. 6769 back in 2017, it is fair to say that legislation regarding trademarks, designs and patents is in line with international norms and standards. While the legal framework provides a solid foundation for IP rights protection, practical obstacles persist, revealing the need for further improvements. A significant challenge has been the limited specialized knowledge among… »
Strategic Battlefield in Combating Counterfeiters: Turkish Riviera, West and South Coast of Türkiye
With a coastline of almost 9,000 kilometers and over 550 blue flag beaches, Türkiye welcomes millions of domestic and foreign tourists during the summer season each year. The most popular area for summer vacations is known as the Turkish Riviera, comprising the cities of Antalya and Muğla in particular, and also some parts of Aydın and Izmir, encompassing the main districts of Alanya, Antalya, Kemer, Fethiye, Marmaris, Bodrum, Kuşadası and Çeşme from the south to the west… »
Examination of Novelty of Designs in Türkiye
A decision of 29 March 2023 of the General Assembly of the Turkish Court of Cassation has clarified whether the examination of lawfulness of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office’s decision on absolute novelty of a design is limited to the evidence submitted in the opposition process or whether ex officio examination can be conducted at any phase. Güldeniz Doğan Alkan and Hatice İnci Turan report for Class 99. The facts of the case The design subject to the opposition The… »
Proposed Amendments Regarding the Turkish Personal Data Protection
A draft bill (the "Draft Bill") including long-awaited amendments to Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (the "Law") has been submitted for review to the commissions of the Turkish Grand National Assembly ("TBMM") and it is expected to be enacted shortly after being evaluated by the Justice Commission, the Constitution Commission, and the Planning and Budget Commission. The Draft Bill contains comprehensive amendment proposals affecting data controllers. With enactment of… »
Insurance Litigation 2024 in Turkey
ForaIn what fora are insurance disputes litigated? In the Turkish judicial system, in principle, insurance disputes are resolved by the commercial courts, irrespective of the amount or value of the dispute. On the other hand, insurance disputes arising out of maritime law are heard by a specialised commercial court. Insurance disputes to which a consumer is a party are heard by consumer courts. If a province has no specialised or regular commercial court, disputes are heard… »
Impact of New Minimum Capital Amounts on Trade Registry Applications
With the Presidential Decree No. 7887 published in the Official Gazette dated November 25, 2023 and numbered 32380, the minimum capital amounts for joint stock and limited liability companies have been increased and accordingly, effective from January 1, 2024, the new minimum capital amounts have been determined as TRY 50,000 for limited liability companies, TRY 250,000 for joint stock companies and TRY 500,000 for joint stock companies that have adopted the registered… »
Processing of Personal Data without Consent as Expressly Stipulated by Laws
On February 12, 2024, the Personal Data Protection Authority ("Authority") published an Information Note on the Personal Data Processing Based on the Legal Reason Applicable to Processing Required for the Laws ("Information Note") and made assessments under Turkish law and EU law regarding the processing of personal data in cases stipulated by laws. Although the Information Note mostly includes general scholar explanations from Turkish law and EU law perspectives, we would… »
Agency Opinion on Health Claims in Food and Food Supplements Can Now Be Requested
The Regulation on the Use of Health Claims for Food and Food Supplements (“Regulation”) entered into force as of its publication on the Official Gazette dated 20 April 2023, and numbered 32169; and the requirement for obtaining approval from the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency ("Agency") under the Ministry of Health for the use of health claims in the labelling, promotion or advertisement of food supplements was abolished. Following this development, the Agency… »
Thoughts On 2023 Corruption Perception Index
Transparency International released the 2023 Corruption Perception Index (“2023 CPI”) on January 30, 2024. Widely regarded as the key reference point in this field, the annual CPI aims to measure the corruption perceptions in the public sector over various sources such as the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting firms and think-tanks. In the recent years, the Russian-Ukrainian war, the conflict growing violent between Israel and Hamas in Palestine… »
Freedom of Quotation in Cinema Works
With respect to lawsuits filed in the scope of Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (“FSEK") No. 5846, an important standard in terms of plagiarism is the limits of freedom of quotation. According to Article 35 of the FSEK, in order to make a quotation from a work, it is necessary to; (i) incorporate some sentences and paragraphs of a work made public, into another work of science and literature, (ii) incorporate certain elements of a published composition, at the… »
Advertisement Board Issued New Principles for Preventing Misleading Loyalty Programs
The Advertisement Board ("Board") amended the "Guideline on Advertisements Containing Price Information, Discount Sale Advertisements and Commercial Practices" ("Guideline") in its meeting dated 09.01.2024 and numbered 341, introduced new principles for loyalty programs. Loyalty programs are generally defined as practices that allow consumers to collect points towards future purchases. The Board has observed that loyalty programs have recently turned into a discount sales… »
What Copyright and Trademark Owners Should Know About the Approach to NFTs in the Republic of Türkiye
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have grown in popularity since first entering public consciousness in 2021. They are digital tokens and may represent unique—virtual or real-world—items including songs, artworks, GIFs, virtual game items, videos, and cartoons. NFTs are created using blockchain technology and primarily operate within Ethereum, a blockchain platform with automated (smart) transactions. NTFs cannot be exchanged or replaced. The NFT is technically not the asset… »