Doors Now Open for ISTAC Arbitration in Public Procurement Agreement Disputes
Arbitration analysis: Pelin Baysal and Bilge Kağan Çevik of Turkish law firm Gün + Partners discuss the availability of Istanbul Arbitration Centre (ISTAC) arbitration for the resolution of public procure-ment agreement disputes following a policy change instigated by the Turkish government. ISTAC was established in the third quarter of 2015 as an independent and autonomous international arbitra-tion centre for resolving national and international commercial transactions in… »
Turkey’s Corruption Perceptions Index Ranking Falls Again
Introduction On February 21 2018 Transparency International published the 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index, which reflects the public sector corruption perspective of non-governmental organisations and representatives of the business world on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).(1) New Zealand and Denmark ranked the highest, with respective scores of 89 and 88. Notably, since 2012, several countries have significantly improved their index score – including… »
Invalidity Attack Blocks Precautionary Injunction Demand
The Istanbul IP Court recently rejected a crucial precautionary injunction demand of a patent owner on the grounds that the demand required a full trial due to the pending invalidation action against the patent. The patent discloses the use of an active pharmaceutical ingredient for treating the conditions of a disease. In light of the drug’s summary of product characteristics, the literal infringement of the patent was inevitable and obvious. The main defence held that the… »
Patent Use and Compulsory Licences
New IP law abolished the provisions concerning the use requirement of patents and evidence on ailed in the Decree Law on the Protection of Patent Rights. Instead, IP law now mentions the use requirement within the provision on compulsory licences, as a consequence of non-use of a patent. Accordingly, a patent owner must use the patented invention. When assessing the use, market conditions and conditions under the control of the patent owner, as well as outside their control… »
Turkish Higher Board Takes Different Approaches to Same Device Element in Separate Decisions
The Re-examination and Evaluation Board (the ‘Higher Board’) of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office has found that, in addition to the similarity of the word elements in the trademarks under comparison, the presence of a device element similar to the opponent’s trademark as actually used increased the likelihood of confusion. Facts On November 28 2016 and November 30 2016 two individuals applied to register the signs depicted below, both in Class 41. Following… »
Amendments to the Law on Movable Pledge in Commercial Transactions Numbered 6750
In accordance with the Law on the Amendment of Certain Laws for the Improvement of the Investment Environment numbered 7099 which was published in the Official Gazette on 10 March 2018 (“Law”), along with the regulations made in the Turkish Commercial Code, Tax Procedural Law, Social Security and General Health Insurance Law, Law on Municipal Revenues, Customs Law, there have been several changes made in the Law on Movable Pledge in Commercial Transactions numbered 6750with… »