Registrability of 3D Trademarks
The Turkish Court of Cassation (the CoC) issued a decision in which the registrability of a 3D medical device trade mark is discussed. This paper aims to provide the details of the matter and to remark upon its importance. Background A 3D device trade mark application covering goods in classes 5 and 10 was filed before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (the Office) and was rejected as the Office found the application as non-distinctive and descriptive. Court Phases The… »
New Regulation Regarding the Use of Consumer Reviews
Consumer reviews have become an important part of the advertising ecosystem. These reviews are very influential to potential customers when they are making a purchasing decision. Marketers use reviews in advertising, they host reviews on their websites, they encourage consumers to post reviews on other sites, and some even try to prevent customers from posting negative reviews at all. Although consumer reviews have such a significant impact, the Turkish Law did not have a… »
COVID-19: Guideline on Risk Management Plans for Vaccines Published
On 24 March 2022, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (Agency) published on its official website the Guideline on Essential Requirements for Risk Management Plans of COVID-19 Vaccines (Turkish language). The guideline is prepared as an attachment to Module IV of the Guideline on Good Pharmacovigilance Practices. The guideline aims to provide detailed explanations on the procedures and requirements that marketing authorisation holders should complete for… »
IP Rights Can Also Protect Public Health and Safety
Gün + Partners recently acted in a case that started as an ordinary anti-counterfeiting case, but which was quickly identified as something much bigger. When it turned out that some fake ‘fire-resistant’ glass was not fire-resistant at all, public health and safety became a major concern as well as trademark infringement. The case began after we received a picture of some fire-resistant glass from a global manufacturer of these products. The logo trademark was simply printed… »
What Is Non-Fungible Token (NFT) and What Is Not?
Non-Fungible Token (NFT), which we have heard about more often since the beginning of 2021, is a digital asset that uses blockchain technology and primarily operates within Ethereum. NFT is a digital token that cannot be exchanged or replaced and may represent many tangible objects in the real world, such as songs, artworks, GIFs, virtual game items, videos, and cartoons. NFT is technically not the work itself, whereas it is a metadata file that contains the unique… »
Making Payments in Turkish Lira in Movable Sale Contracts Has Become Mandatory
Former Regulations Concerning FX Prohibition The Presidential Executive Decree numbered 85 and dated 12 September 2018 (the “Decree”) prohibits the private and public residents in Turkey from agreeing their payment obligations in or indexed to foreign currencies in contracts between them concerning sale and purchase of movable and immovable, all kinds of lease and rentals of movables or immovable including vehicle leases and financial leases, employment, service and… »