Insights

Thought Leadership

COVID-19 HUB

COVID-19 HUB

Our COVID-19 HUB is designed to keep our stakeholders updated and help them understand the legal effects of COVID-19 outbreak, and take steps to maintain their businesses in Turkey.

Dispute Management

Dispute Management

Commercial Dispute Resolution under Turkish Law: Rules, Developments and Insights

Patent and Utility Models

Patent and Utility Models

In this year's report, we focus on the key aspects of patent litigation in Turkey, and the most important or challenging issues in Turkish Patent Law.

Trademarks and Designs

Trademarks and Designs

In this year's report, we focus on the eight main challenges encountered in the interpretation and implementation of key changes introduced by the IP Code.

Copyrights

Copyrights

In the report, we outline seven controversial issues that we often encounter in Turkish copyright Law.

Life Sciences

Life Sciences

In this year's report, we focus on the key aspects of life sciences in Turkey, the most important and challenging issues in Turkey’s life sciences industry.

Technology, Media and Telecom

Technology, Media and Telecom

In this year's report, we focus on the key aspects of media and advertising law in Turkey, and the most important or challenging issues in Turkish media and advertising Law.

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Monthly Newsletters

July 2020

July 2020

We are pleased to publish our monthly newsletters to update our community and clients about legal developments in Turkey.

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Good News for Owners of IR Designations as Trademark Office Changes its Practice in Opposition Proceedings

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Trademarks and Designs || Güldeniz Doğan Alkan and Cansu Evren

The Trademark Office has recently changed its practice in opposition proceedings with regard to national designations of IRs The office has started to notify IR owners via WIPO when an opposition is filed against their designations in Turkey The difference in treatment between IR designations and national applications had been widely criticised The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office has recently changed its practice in opposition proceedings with regard to national designa...»

Turkish Average Consumers: Healthcare Professionals or End Users?

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Trademarks and Designs and Life Sciences || Dicle Doğan and Ayşenur Çıtak

In December 2019, the Court of Appeal issued two decisions in which the nature of consumers has been scrutinized while assessing likelihood of confusion between pharmaceutical trade marks. Infantum v Infanta A trade mark application INFANTUM was filed before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (the Office) covering goods in classes 3 and 5, against which an opposition was filed based on the prior registered trade mark INFANTA covering the same classes.The opposition was a...»

Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Grace Periods and Use Obligation Provided for Trademarks in Turkey

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Trademarks and Designs || Güldeniz Doğan Alkan and Ayşenur Çıtak

Effects of Covid-19 pandemic on trademarks’ use requirement has been discussed globally and it is also a hot topic in Turkey. In order to discuss its effects, the grace periods provided for trademarks in the Turkish Industrial Property Code (“the IPC”) and justified reasons for non-use will be explained first. After giving an outline of the precautions taken against the Covid-19 pandemic in Turkey, we will provide our comments on the matter. General Information Regarding the ...»

Recent Developments about Unbreakable Deadlock in Consumer Disputes: Mediation and Solution Proposals

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Dispute Management || Pelin Baysal and Muzaffer Atar

Introduction The fair and swift resolution of consumer disputes serves the interests of not only the consumers, but also the businesses involved. Consumers purchase more when they are confident that they will be treated fairly in a potential dispute. Businesses, on the other hand, become economically inoperable and unviable following systematic violations against consumers and the rapid and fair enforcement of consumer rights. In short, all market players are better off in an...»

The Insurance and Reinsurance Law Review, 8th Edition, Turkey Chapter

Guides -
Insurance and Reinsurance || Pelin Baysal and Ilgaz Önder

I          INTRODUCTION Nature of the insurance and reinsurance market There are 62 active insurance companies incorporated in Turkey, consisting of 38 non-life insurers, 17 life and pension insurers, five life insurers and two reinsurers.2 The premiums collected in 2019 amounted to approximately 69.2 billion Turkish lira, an increase of 26.7 per cent compared with the previous year.3   Of this aggregate   value, approximately 57.9 billion Turkish lira was derived from non-...»

Commercial Dispute Resolution under Turkish Law: Rules, Developments and Insights

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Dispute Management || Gün + Partners

Commercial Dispute Resolution under Turkish Law: Rules, Developments and Insights Turkish civil litigation is a unique system where the concepts and practices of civil law meet with the ones originating from Turkish law. Along with the classical and common judiciary concepts and practices among civil law systems, Turkish law envisages a sui generis concept called “enforcement proceedings without judgment”. This frequently-resorted type of enforcement action is native to Turki...»

Advertisement Board Imposed Sanctions against Exorbitant Price Increase during COVID-19 Outbreak

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

While the world and Turkey are dealing with coronavirus pandemic, demand for protective masks, sanitizer, cleaning products and foodstuff significantly increased. Some manufacturers, suppliers and retail businesses exorbitantly and inequitably increased prices of those products which are intensively demanded by the consumers during this outbreak. The Advertisement Board, recently in March 2020, imposed administrative monetary fine corresponding to TRL 10.090.060 (approximatel...»

Dividend Distribution Restrictions Imposed on Equity Companies in Scope of COVID-19 Measures

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Corporate and M&A || Filiz Toprak Esin, Görkem Bilgin and Ahmet Niyazi Ülkü

Within the scope of the fight against the spread of Covid-19, provisional article 13 was added to the Turkish Commercial Code (“TCC”) with the Law numbered 7244 adopted on 16 April 2020. The said provisional article brought certain restrictions on dividend distribution rights of the equity companies until 30 September 2020 and it was further regulated that the companies exempt from these restrictions and the procedures and principles regarding the application thereof would be...»

Can Foreign Court Decisions Concerning IP Rights Be Enforced in Turkey?

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Trademarks and Designs || Hande Hançar and Begüm Soydan

In principle, a court order rendered in a country has its legal effects and consequences only within the same country. For a foreign court decision to create legal effects and consequences in Turkey, this decision needs to be legally recognised and enforced by Turkish courts. The regulations regarding the recognition and/or enforcement of foreign court decisions are stipulated between Article 50 and 59 of the International Private and Civil Procedure Code (IPCPC) numbered 571...»

New Guidelines on Meetings Sponsored by Medical Device Companies

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Life Sciences || Dicle Doğan and Fatma Sevde Tan

Dicle Doğan and Fatma Sevde Tan, Gun + Partners On 27 April 2020, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency published Guidelines on Scientific Meetings and Educational Activities regarding Medical Devices (Turkish language). The guidelines cover web-based scientific and educational meetings. Web-based meetings include online seminars, video conferences and meetings that can be watched over the network. Pursuant to the guidelines, web-based meetings are subject to the p...»

Getting Back To Work: How to Prepare Workplaces for the “New Normal” After COVID-19

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Employment || Beril Yayla Sapan and Asena Aytuğ Keser

With the first case announced on March 11th, 2020, COVID-19 pandemic has started to show certain impacts on, among others, business life in Turkey. At the writing date of this article, Turkey is going through a normalization phase. Indeed, on May 28th, the president announced that regular curfew imposed on weekends will be terminated, inter-provincial travel restrictions will be removed, and the age limit subject to be under continuous curfew will be lowered from 20 to 18, as...»

Direct Marketing 2020 in Turkey

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Technology, Media and Telecom || Hande Hançar and Elif Melis Özsoy

The regulation of unsolicited commercial communications  1. How does national law regulate the making of unsolicited telephone calls for marketing purposes? Electronic commercial communications are regulated by the Law on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce numbered 6563 (E-Commerce Law), which came into force on 1 May 2015, along with the Regulation on Commercial Communication and Electronic Commercial Messages (Commercial Communication Regulation). The E-Commerce Law defi...»