Leveraging Civil and Criminal Routes in Trademark Infringement Cases
Five years have passed since the adoption of Turkey’s new Intellectual Property Code (“IP Code”), which annulled the Trademark Decree-Law no. 556 (“D-L”) back in January 2017. This piece of legislation introduced several changes to the trademark law. Some changes were expected for a long time, whereas some were surprising even to IP practitioners who were directly involved in preparing the draft of the IP Code. It would be fair to say that the Office and the courts almost… »
Alternative Remedy for Anticounterfeiting: Complaint Before Advertisement Board
In its recent decisions[1], the Advertisement Board imposed sanctions against the advertising of counterfeit products that were sold and advertised as genuine products on various websites Instagram pages, according to Law No. 6502 on Protection of the Consumer (“Consumer Protection Law”) and the Regulation on Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices (“Advertising Regulation”). The complaints subject to these decisions are based on the fact that the… »
IP Rights Also Protect Public Health and Safety
This matter started as an ordinary anti-counterfeiting case after receiving a picture of a fire-resistant glass from a global manufacturer of such products. The logo trademark was simply printed on the glass, and due to several inconsistencies, it was explicitly a fake product. Nevertheless, when it turned out that the fake product was not fire-resistant at all, public health and safety became the major concern besides trademark infringement. After an investigation into the… »
The Role of Informed User and Freedom of Choice in the Assessment of Individual Character of a Design
Design law enables the protection of the appearance of a product. According to the Industrial Property Code (IP Code), a design must be new and have the individual character to obtain design protection. The overall impression produced by it on the informed user and the designer’s degree of freedom in developing the design must be observed to consider whether the design has individual character. While there is a reference to both the degree of freedom of choice and informed… »
Turkish Radio Television Supreme Board Sanctioned Scenes Relating to Stereotypes of Virginity
In its decision numbered 21 rendered at the meeting dated 28 April 2021 and numbered 2021/17; the Radio Television Supreme Board (“Board”) inspected a TV series called “Camdaki Kız” (the girl in the window) broadcasted in a national channel in Turkey and made remarkably critical evaluations for the scenes relating to stereotypes of virginity. The scenes and dialogues showing a mother forcing her daughter to wear a virginity corset throughout her all life starting from her… »
Patent Rights on Vaccines: Looking for a Scapegoat for Vaccine Inequity
It is the common goal to get through the pandemic, which endangers the health of all of humanity, and for that, all have been watching for a vaccine and treatment to overcome the pandemic as soon as possible. Scientists have managed to go beyond the known in a considerably short time, and multiple COVID-19 vaccines were developed. At this point, the equal distribution of vaccines emerged as a vital problem that hindered global salvation from this pandemic. While some… »