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V Versus V: Assessment of Similarity Between One-letter Trademarks

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Trademarks and Designs || Güldeniz Doğan Alkan and Cansu Evren

The IP Court found that there was no likelihood of confusion between the parties’ ‘V’ marks, contradicting the expertreport’s evaluation Versace’s mark included fi gurative elements that rendered it distinctive, while the plaintiff’s marks included descriptivephrases The decision confi rms that the likelihood of confusion assessment shall be stricter when it comes to one-letter trademarks Background An opposition was fi led against Gianni Versace SRL’s trademark application...»

Advertisement Containing Blurred Images of Rivals’ Products is Banned

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Technology, Media and Telecom || Hande Hançar and Baran Güney

The Advertisement Board rendered an important decision regarding comparative advertising practice on August 9, 2022. The decision pertains to the advertisement published in the catalogue offered to consumers monthly by a globally-known cosmetics and fragrance company which compared two of its fragrances with the products of two world-famous fragrance brands. The advertisement published in the catalogue of the advertiser regarding its products contains the expressions of “It i...»

Substantial Amendments to the Regulation on Distance Contracts

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Corporate and M&A || Görkem Bilgin and Yalçın Umut Talay

Several amendments were made to the Law on the Protection of the Consumer (the “Law”) on April 1, 2022, most of which will come into force on October 1, 2022. We have evaluated the amendments made to the Law comprehensively.[1] In line with those amendments, substantial additions and amendments were also made in the Regulation on Distance Contracts (the “Regulation”) as published in the Official Gazette dated August 23, 2022 and numbered 31932. Many of the amendments to the R...»

Draft Guideline on Processing Genetic Data

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Data Protection and Privacy || Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş and Yalçın Umut Talay

The Personal Data Protection Authority (the “DPA”) published the Draft Guideline on the Issues for Consideration about Processing of Genetic Data (the “Draft Guideline”) on August 24, 2022. The DPA indicated the importance of genetic data and emphasized that the information acquired by processing genetic data, which is data of special nature as per Law on Protection of Personal Data (“DPL”), is extremely sensitive and might have results that can affect the entire society. For...»

Recent Legal Updates Regarding NFTs First Preliminary Injunction Regarding NFTs Issued by a Court in Turkey

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Trademarks and Designs || Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and Havva Yıldız

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), which are among the hottest topics as of 2021 are discussed at court decisions in various jurisdictions, and similarly in Turkey, Istanbul 3rd Civil Intellectual Property Court (“IP Court”) rendered a preliminary injunction regarding NFTs on June 21, 2022. The subject of the dispute pertains to exploitation of the portrait of the late Cem Karaca, who is an artist, songwriter and composer with a legendary reputation in Anatolian Rock music. In the c...»

How to File an Individual Application with Constitutional Court

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Dispute Management || Beril Yayla Sapan and Kardelen Özden

Introduction According to article 45 of the Code on Establishment and Procedure Rules of the Constitutional Court (No. 6216) (the Code), anyone can apply to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that their fundamental rights and freedoms – protected under the Turkish Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and any additional protocols to which Turkey is a party – have been violated by public force. Any and all administrative and judicial remedies regarding the...»

Turkish IP Office Rules on Similarity of Figurative Marks: Timberland’s Tree Emblem

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Trademarks and Designs, IP Prosecution and Anti-Counterfeiting || Zeynep Seda Alhas and Dilan Sıla Kayalıca

Timberland is one of the most famous and prestigious footwear brands, especially known by its original waterproof ‘yellow’ boots, which have defined the brand since their invention in 1973. Timberland is also the owner of the tree device mark shown below, which is broadly used on its products, including footwear and apparel, as well as on any kind of promotional material of the company. Due to the value and good reputation of the brand, not only the design of the yellow boo...»

Recent Case Highlights Lack of Harmonisation Between Courts’ Approach and PTO’s Practice

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Trademarks and Designs and Patent and Utility Models || Güldeniz Doğan Alkan and Ayşenur Çıtak Bozdağ

Beiersdorf opposed an application for NEVAYA based on its NIVEA trademarks, alleging a likelihood of confusion and thewell-known status of its marks The PTO partially accepted the opposition based on the likelihood of confusion argument, but rejected the well-known status argument A key issue was whether the well-known status argument could be asserted in an action for the cancellation of the PTO’sdecision, even though no appeal was filed against the refusal of such argument...»

First Preliminary Injunction Issued by a Court in Turkey Regarding NFTs

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Trademarks and Designs and Copyrights || Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and Havva Yıldız

Few issues in the world of intangible rights contain as many legal uncertainties as do non-fungible tokens. Kat friends Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and Havva Yıldız discuss a recent decision rendered in Turkey, representing the first foray by a Turkish court into these murky legal waters.Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), ranging from art and literature to fashion and cinema, remain among the hottest legal topics in the world of intangible rights, despite the lack of clear legal regulation....»

New Law on E-Commerce Obliges Platforms to Remove Infringing Content

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Trademarks and Designs and IP Prosecution || Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and Dilan Sıla Kayalıca

A new law (No 7416) regarding e-commerce ― announced in the Official Gazette dated 7 July 2022, and coming into effect 1January 2023 ― will oblige sites to take down a product if they receive a legitimate complaint arguing that there is a violation ofintellectual and industrial property rights on their platform. The basic regulation concerning the responsibilities of e-commerce sites regarding the content that they host was included inLaw 5651 on the Regulation of Internet Br...»

A Milestone Decision on the Patentability of Second Medical Use Claims

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Patent and Utility Models and Life Sciences || Selin Sinem Erciyas and Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın

As per the EPC definition, a substance or composition that is already known to have been used in a “first medical use” may still be patentable for any second or further use, provided that said use is novel and inventive. Even though the first medical use was the subject of patent protection within the EPC 1973, this convention did not regulate that the substance could be subject to a patent in different medical uses (second/further medical use). While there was no regulation ...»

Drug Reimbursement Practices

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Life Sciences || Dicle Doğan and Fatma Sevde Tan

We come across constantly on the street, on the Internet, in the cafés when we go to buy coffee with donation campaigns carried out to cover the costs of patient treatments. Although it is essential for the state to cover the health costs in accordance with the constitutional principle of the social state, we encounter with more news of uncovered treatment costs. For example, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, the disease known colloquially as SMA, results from the inability of patient...»