Reflections of Digital Transformation on Competition Law
In recent years, the rapid spread of digital transformation, defined as the transformation of business processes, customer relationships and operations of undertakings with digital technologies, driven by the technological advancements, has led to changes in the ways of doing business. During this transformation process, the use of digital technologies, especially information and communication technologies, is increased compared to traditional methods. As Undertakings aim to… »
Decision on the Pricing of Drugs Has Been Amended
On 23 July 2023, the Presidential Decree numbered 6932 on the Amendment of the Decision on Pricing of Medicinal Products for Human Use ("Decision") was published in the Official Gazette numbered 32257. With the provisional articles added to the Decision: It has been arranged that the euro value in Turkish Lira to be used in the pricing of medicinal products for human use was increased by 30.5% to 14.0387 TRY in July 2023. While applying this increase, it is stated that the… »
Guidelines For Withdrawal and Recall of Medical Devices Published
On 19 July 2023, the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency published Guidelines for withdrawal and recall of medical devices and in vitro diagnostic devices (Turkish language) on its official website. The Guidelines regulate the procedures to be implemented to prevent unsafe and non-conforming medical devices from being placed on the market and the responsibilities of the relevant parties pursuant to Law No 7223 on Product Safety and Technical Regulations. In this regard, the… »
Highly Logical: Turkish IP Office's Vulcan Salute Ruling Sets Final Frontier For Copyright Ownership Argument
According to Article 6/6 of the Turkish Industrial Property Code, “An application for registration of a trademark shall be refused upon the opposition of the right holder if it consists of a person’s name, trade name, photography, copyright or any other intellectual property right of another.” Based on this provision, it is possible to oppose an application relying upon the opponent’s other intellectual property rights ownership. On December 20 2022, the Re-Examination and… »
Regulation on Licensing of Medicines Amended
On 27 May 2023, the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Licensing of Human Medicinal Products (Turkish language) (Regulation) was published in the Official Gazette numbered 32203. With the amended provisions, a new reason for the suspension of the licence has been introduced in connection with licence transfer applications. To avoid suspension, licence holders must submit documentation showing that the production site complies with the Good Manufacturing Practice Guidelines… »
Regulation on Technical Services For Medical Devices Published
On 26 May 2023, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (Agency) published the Regulation on Technical Services for Medical Devices Used for Provision of Healthcare Services (Turkish language) (Regulation) in the Official Gazette numbered 32202. The Regulation has been prepared by the Agency to regulate the qualifications, authorisation, supervision and training of technical services that will support activities such as installation, updates, upgrades, modification… »
The Exception Criteria for Registration Obligation with the Data Controllers' Registry has been Changed by the Decision of the Personal Data Protection Board
The Personal Data Protection Board ("Board"), through its decision dated 06.07.2023 and numbered 2023/1154 published in the Official Gazette dated 25.07.2023 and numbered 32259, has decided to increase the monetary threshold regarding the total annual financial balance sheet from TRY 25 million to TRY 100 million as one of the criteria for exemption from Obligation to Register with the Data Controllers' Registry (“VERBIS”). According to the Board's decision dated 19.07.2018… »
PTO Confirms Similarity of Virtual and Physical Goods in Landmark Decision
A company based in the US opposed an application for goods and services in Classes 25 and 35 based on an earlier mark in Classes 9, 35 and 41 The PTO found that the physical goods/services covered by the application were similar to the virtual and online goods/services covered by the opponent’s mark The similarity of virtual and physical goods/services has recently been a hot topic across the world In a decision issued on 31 March 2023 (which was subsequently finalised)… »
Is Partial Victory a Real Victory?
Upon reviewing two decisions rendered by the Ankara Regional Court of Appeal (“the RCA”) in 2021 and 2023 in independent cases (the cases will be referred as “the 1st case” and “the 2nd case”), it is concluded that if an argument is rejected during the opposition proceedings before the IP Office and no appeal is filed against the non-acceptance of this argument before the Higher Board of the IP Office (even though the decision is in favour of the opponent), the IP Court… »
Payment Calculation Method For Journalist Severance Has Changed
Introduction Law No. 5953 on Arrangement of Relations Between Employers and Employees in the Field of Press (Press Labour Law) sets out the terms and conditions of employment of journalists. Article 6 of the Press Labour Law regulates journalists' entitlement to severance payment and termination of their employment contracts by employers. According to the former wording of the referred article, journalists with at least five years of professional service were entitled to… »
PTO Decision Sheds Light on Protection of Well-known Trademarks
The PTO partially upheld HP Hewlett Packard’s opposition against a mark containing the element ‘HP’ based only on the likelihood of confusion ground On appeal, the board upheld the opponent’s well-known trademark claim Notably, the opponent’s evidence showed the HP marks used in a blue colour and the contested mark displayed the same colour The Re-examination and Evaluation Board of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has rejected a trademark application that… »
The Constitutional Court Rules that the Competition Board's On-Site Inspection Without a Judge's Decision Violates the Right to Immunity of Residence
In 2009, the Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”) had conducted a preliminary investigation to determine whether there was a violation of Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition ("Law No. 4054"), regarding restrictive agreements, concerted practices, and decisions about price, production, and sales information and forecasts among undertakings being members of the Automotive Distributors Association and the Automotive Industry Association. As a result… »