Choosing the Proper Court for Provisional Attachments in Relation to international arbitration seated in Turkey
Turkish international arbitration law (IAL) governing disputes with a foreign element, where the seat of arbitration is Turkey,1 contains a provision (article 6) which paves the way for the parties’ application before Turkish courts for provisional attachments. The IAL widens the scope of Turkish courts’ jurisdiction to render provisional attachments by stating that this particular provision is applicable not only for arbitrations seated in Turkey but also for those seated… »
What are the Rules Around the Non-Use Defence in Oppositions?
The new IP Code came into force on January 10 2017 in Turkey. One of the major changes in the new IP Code is a non-use defence in opposition proceedings. According to the IP Code, if the ground trade mark was registered more than five years from the application date (or priority date) of the opposed trade mark application, upon request by the owner of the trade mark application, the Office is obliged to ask the opponent to prove effective use of the ground trade mark(s) on… »
Tobacco Products Packaging: Plain Packaging and Limited Trademark Use Came into Force
The Law on Amending Some Laws and Decree-Laws related to Health numbered 7151 (“the Law no. 7151”) has been adopted in The Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 15.11.2018 and published in the Official Gazette on 05.12.2018. Articles 23, 24 and 25 of the Law no. 7151 amend some articles of The Law on Prevention and Control of Hazards of Tobacco Products dated 26.11.1996 and numbered 4207 (“The Law no. 4207”) and bring new regulations to tobacco market. Major Changes Summary of… »
Procedural Changes Bring Swifter Justice in Employment Cases
Turkey’s Labor Courts Act (No. 7036) has introduced a number of changes to the administration of justice in employment disputes, including mandatory mediation, which must now be undertaken prior to initiating court proceedings, and a new appeal procedure for challenging a court’s decision. Mediation With the Labor Courts Act, it has become mandatory to apply for mediation in the following situations: Both employers and employees must do so for claims about employee… »
Bad Faith Recognized as Grounds for Invalidation
The General Assembly of the Court of Appeals has held that a registered trademark may be invalidated on the grounds of bad faith (Case 2008/11-501E 2008/507, July 16 2008, only recently published). The case arose out of an action for the invalidation of the trademark RG 512 (and design) on the grounds that it was confusingly similar to the earlier mark RG 512 (and design). The earlier mark was not registered or used in Turkey, but was registered and used in other countries.… »
Hope for Microsoft: Opponent Which Led New Application for Unused Mark Found to Have Acted in Bad Faith
The Re-examination and Evaluation Board of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office has reversed a decision of the Trademarks Department in which the latter had rejected claims of bad faith against a new application fıled by the applicant to avoid the consequences of a possible partial revocation of its earlier trademark. Background In November 2014 Microsoft Corporation fıled a trademark application in Turkey through WIPO for the mark POWER BI, covering specific goods in… »