Terms of Termination Ban, Unilateral Unpaid Leave and Short-Time Working Allowance Have Been Extended Once Again
With two very recent Presidential Decrees published in the Official Gazette (31287) dated 27 October 2020, the terms set out for termination ban and unilateral unpaid leave, which were to expire by 17 November 2020, have been extended until 17 January 2021; and the term set out for the short-time working allowance granted in scope of COVID-19 has been extended until 31 December 2020. Extension of termination ban and unilateral unpaid leave With the Presidential Decree 3135… »
Determining Similarity of Goods and Services in Trademark Opposition Proceedings
This article aims to discuss similarity of goods and services in case of an opposition against a trademark application before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (the office). Article 6/1-b of the IP Code sets forth that* “the trademark applied for shall be rejected in circumstances where it is identical or similar to an earlier application/registration, covers the same/similar goods or services therewith and creates a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public in… »
Will COVID-19 Skyrocket Remote Hearings?
Introduction Law 7251 on the Amendment of the Civil Procedure Code and Certain Laws entered into force upon publication in the Official Gazette (31199) on 28 July 2020. Article 17 of Law 7251 amended Article 149 of the Civil Procedure Code (“CPC”) 6100 to allow courts to conduct remote hearings through video and audio transmission either upon the parties' request or ex officio under certain circumstances. Although the concept of remote hearing is not new to Turkish law, the… »
Industrial Design Rights 2020: Turkey
Industrial Design Rights is a revised and updated third edition of a significant work first published in 2001 under the auspices of the Intellectual Property Committee of the International Bar Association. There have been considerable changes since the previous edition principally in the increasing adoption of the Hague Convention on designs all over the world and harmonization of industrial designs among the European Community countries. Industrial designs are particularly… »
Turkish Data Localization Rules in Effect for Social Media Companies
On Oct. 1, 2020, amendments to the Regulation of Internet Broadcasts and Prevention of Crimes Committed through Such Broadcasts (Law No. 5651), also known as the Social Media Law in Turkey, entered into force. The amendments define the term "social network provider," oblige them to appoint a local representative, set out procedures for content removal, request reports every six months, and require user data to be stored within Turkey. On Oct. 2, the Information and… »
Advertisement Board Imposed Sanctions due to False Health Claims in Advertising of Food Supplements
In its decision dated 14th of July 2020 the Advertisement Board imposed sanction against the advertisement of a food supplement branded “No Attack”. According to Advertisement Board the advertising of this food supplement by celebrities in Turkey as well as the producer itself incorporated false health claim. Hence the Advertisement Board ordered to cease the broadcast of the said advertisements in any media and imposed administrative monetary fine corresponding to TRL… »
ICTA’s Decision on Social Network Providers
Definition of "Social Network Provider" has been added to the Law numbered 5651 on the Regulation of Internet Broadcasts and Prevention of Crimes Committed through Such Broadcasts (“Internet Law”) with the amendments that entered into force as of October 01, 2020. Although the amendments have regulated main issues concerning social network providers, the details of their obligations and sanctions have been subject to discussions and required more clarification. Accordingly on… »
Turkish Court of Appeal Rules on Abuse of the Right to Sue
In a recent case concerning trade mark law, the Turkish Court of Appeal ruled that even in cases of bad faith on the part of the defendant, the claimant can face the principle of loss of right due to silence as well as the barrier of abuse of the right to sue. The decisions As some readers may be aware, two German companies, Speck Pumpen Verkaufsgesellschaft GmbH and Winter Pumpen GmbH, had a dispute over the SPECK trade mark. This trade mark conflict included some actions… »
COVID-19’s Impact on Compliance Issues and Internal & External Investigations
COVID-19 outbreak, which was announced to be a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020[1], had inevitable impacts on corporate compliance processes due to the evolving business and workplace practices. In parallel with the increase in remote working, along with the psychological and financial distress on individuals emerging from the crisis, many companies have come up against a changing landscape for fraud with a rising number of fraud cases, as well as… »
Court of Cassation's Latest Approach to Actions for Unquantified Amounts of Receivables
Introduction When the new Code of Civil Procedure was enacted in 2011, it introduced a new case type to Turkish litigation, enabling plaintiffs to file actions for unquantified amounts of receivables, the determination of which is left to the courts. When filing such actions, plaintiffs must: state the amount of determinable receivables as the minimum amount subject to the dispute; pay a case fee based on this amount; extend their claim to the amount calculated by the court;… »
COVID-19’s Impact on Contracts and Relation with Force Majeure
The following statements are intended to help clarify the current legal situation caused by COVID-19 in terms of contracts and are valid for contractual relations subject to Turkish law. If contracting parties choose a law other than Turkish law as the law to be applied to the contract, the following statements may not apply. In such cases, the matter would have to be interpreted according to the law under which the contractual relationship is governed. 1. What is Force… »
COVID-19 and Personal Data Protection
1. Can processing personal data for the purpose of protecting public health within the scope of the struggle and measures taken to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic and its risk be considered as an exception under the Personal Data Protection Law in Turkey? What are the legal reasons for data processing within this scope? Under Article 28 of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 ("Law No. 6698"), cases that may be exempted from the application of the Law are listed.… »