Sector Inquiry on Online Advertising Sector
The Competition Authority announced that the Competition Board decided to launch an inquiry related to the online advertising sector on 21.01.2021. As mentioned in the announcement, the online advertising sector has a complex supply chain which includes various services and actors. It has been emphasized that the market is in an intricate structure and develops rapidly. Similar to the global practice and having become subject to inquiries in some countries, the broadcasting… »
Broad Trademarks Registered Without Intention to Use
Filing trademarks on a broad list of goods and services without the intention to use is common practice in Turkey. Owners of such trademarks might have acted in bad faith at the time of filing, or could abuse their rights arising from such trademarks while enforcing them. To illustrate, owners of overly broad trademarks may request third parties to pay a high amount of monies to grant them letters of consent, to withdraw their opposition, or to engage in co-existence… »
The Effect of the Pandemic on Trademark Applications
2020 was a difficult year for businesses as humanity started to live through the first global disaster of the millennium, the Covid-19 pandemic. Just as the fluctuations in the economy and our changing work and lifestyles due to long months spent at homes destroyed our understanding of “normal.” As a result, business mentality, preferences and actions taken during the crisis have all changed. Although it is inevitable for trademark filings to be affected by these changes, the… »
Effects of Covid-19 on Brand Enforcement in Turkey
Turkey’s first official diagnosis of COVID-19 was announced on March 11, 2020. Since then, the country has experienced lockdowns, quarantines, travel bans and limited access to public services at various levels. There were months where the legal and administrative bodies’ effectiveness was inversely proportional with the curve of pandemic. Incidentally, brand enforcement activities were also heavily affected, especially during the second and third quarters of 2020. However… »
Boundaries of the Supervisory Power Granted to the Court of Cassation
When we take a closer look at the history of the Turkish judiciary system, the Court of Cassation has been an institution existing under different names and with different powers since 1868, and it serves as the supreme court of our judicial justice system. The Court of Cassation has taken the current position and duties together with the establishment of regional courts of justice, and the adoption of the triple justice system. Prior to the establishment of regional courts… »
Well-known Trademark Registry Is Again Open for Debate
In a recent decision that challenged long-standing precedents, the Court of Cassation has concluded that the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (the Office) has no authority to create and maintain a registry for recording well-known trademarks. The background of the case relies upon the fact that the plaintiff’s application to have its trademark recorded as well-known was rejected by the Office’s Re-examination and Evaluation Board (the Board). The plaintiff filed a… »
Enforcement of the Foreign Court Decisions Related to IP Rights in Turkey
In principle, a court order rendered in one country has its legal effects and consequences only within the same country. For a foreign court decision to create legal effects and consequences, in Turkey, this decision needs to be legally recognized and/or enforced by Turkish courts. Regulations regarding the recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions are stipulated between Articles 50 and 59 of the International Private and Civil Procedure Code (“IPCPC”), numbered… »
Updates on Mandatory Mediation for IP Disputes
As of January 01, 2019, mediation is mandatory for monetary related commercial disputes in Turkey. In our 2019 thought leadership paper, we shared our opinions on the effects of such development applied to IP related disputes in which compensation or payment of a certain amount is sought. Up to this point, practical impacts of this change were a question, especially for the cases that include both monetary and non-monetary claims. Recent decisions of the Turkish Court of… »
Borders and Principles of Processing Employee Data in Turkey in Light of DPA and Court Decisions
Click here to watch the webinar on this topic. Private life has been protected under the Turkish Constitution before the enactment of Data Protection Law came into force in 2016 in Turkey. Disputes related to monitoring employee personal data in the work place have been subject to court decisions based on the constitutional provisions mostly and also several decisions have been taken by the Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) in this respect. Legal grounds for data processing… »
The Benefits of Filing a Criminal Case Based on Trademark Infringement for Counterfeit Products Subjected to the Crime of Smuggling
Turkey’s geographical location and dynamic population make Turkey an important market for smuggled products and one of the major transit countries. In its most basic definition, a smuggled product corresponds to the products entering the country without permission or with underreporting/false declaration. Products subject to the crime of smuggling comprise a wide range of sectors from pharmaceuticals to tobacco and alcohol products, from textiles to phones and car components.… »
Employing a Trademark as a Domain Name Alone is Not Sufficient to Prove Genuine Use
The first instance Civil Court for Intellectual and Industrial Rights (“IP court”) in its decision rendered in October, 2020, pointed out that the use of the subject mark solely as a domain name is not deemed sufficient to prove the use of the mark as a trademark. The decision concerns a revocation action for non-use filed against a trademark that has been registered for more than five years, but which has not been used properly and effectively with respect to the relevant… »
Implementation of Mandatory Mediation in IP Disputes: Court of Cassation Issues Contradictory Decisions
Background An implementation problem occurs when monetary and non-monetary claims are raised together in IP cases, since the code introducing mandatory mediation does not provide a specic rule for disputes combining both monetary and non-monetary claims in a single case. In such scenario, one of the following three options must be applied by the courts: passing through mandatory mediation and entering into the merits of the case for all claims; dismissing all claims based… »