Turkish Country - Code Domain Name System on the Eve of a New Era
• The long-awaited TRABIS System, which replaces the Nic TR system, will become effective in the near future• The most important change is that extensions such as ‘com.tr’, ‘org.tr’, ‘net.tr’ will be allocated on a ‘first come, first-served’ basis• A new dispute resolution mechanism is due to come into effect Since 1998 Nic TR, under the Middle East Technical University, has been authorised by ICANN to register and manage ‘.tr’ domain names. Recently, it has been announced… »
Remarks On 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index
Transparency International, a non-governmental organization combatting corruption worldwide, released the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (“CPI”) on January 25, 2021. As a composite indicator, the Index combines various sources to measure the perceptions of businesspeople and country experts, on corruption in the public sector. Accordingly, it ranks 180 countries/territories by their perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very… »
Istanbul IP Court Reaches Landmark Decision on Precautionary Injunction
The trigger point and the timing of a request for a precautionary injunction (PI) is crucial. However, in pharmaceutical patent enforcement, most damage occurs from the launch of the Gx product, which can account for a price cut of as much as 40% from the originator’s drug. Therefore, the PI must be filed and granted before the Gx launches, yet while there is sufficient proof available to overcome the so-called Bolar exemption hurdle. The PI filing date serves this aim… »
Removal of Products From Named Patient Programme List
The Turkish named patient programme (NPP) is an exceptional importation regime for pharmaceutical products. Following a 5 December 2018 amendment to Law No 984 on Commercial Pharmaceutical Warehouses and Shops that Sell Poisonous Chemical Substances Used in Arts and Agriculture (Law on Warehouses), it is mandatory to apply for marketing authorisation within three years of a drug's inclusion on the NPP list. It is also mandatory to obtain marketing authorisation within two… »
New Regulation on Licensing of Medicinal Products For Human Use
The Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency has published a new regulation on Licensing of Medicinal Products for Human Use in the Official Gazette (Turkish language) numbered 31686 of 11 December 2021. This Regulation introduces new provisions that amount to a comprehensive amendment of the abolished Regulation of the same name. The noteworthy new provisions of the Regulation are as follows: In the definitions section of the Regulation, some of the concepts are defined… »
The Long - Awaited Amendments in Turkish Data Protection Law
The Turkish data protection authority, Kişisel Verileri Koruma Kurumu, has proposed amendments to the most controversial provisions of the Law on Personal Data Protection numbered 6698. The provisions have been heavily criticized by academia and business circles due to their inapplicability and inadequacy to meet needs. The amendments were actually part of the Economic Reforms, and specific tasks were introduced under the Economic Reforms to comply with the EU General Data… »
Updates on NPP Products in Turkey
The Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency ("Agency") published the new Guidelines for Drug Supply and Use from Abroad ("Guidelines") on 23 October 2021. The Guidelines regulate the procedure of drug supply from abroad for drugs that are not authorized in Turkey or authorized but not available in the market for various reasons. The Guidelines were first published in 2014, updated in 2015, 2017, and 2020 and finally, the final version was published on 23 October… »
Madrid e-Filing Now Available to Applicants in Turkey
As a result of the cooperation between the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT) and WIPO,Turkey has taken its place among thecountries that enable applicants to file their international trademark applications directly through the Madrid e-Filing service. Before this change, the MM2 form - the application form for the registration of international trademark applications - had to be filled in manually and submitted to TURKPATENT via the EPATS - TURKPATENT’s… »
Failure to Send Information Message by SMS or Email Regarding E-Notification Will Not Affect Term or Validity
Background The amendments made in Notification Law 7201 in 2019 expanded the scope of persons notified by e-notifications to include: public institutions and organisations; lawyers; notaries; experts; and mediators. Following this development, the Regulation on Notification via Electronic Means came into force in 2019. Both the Notification Law and the Regulation on Notification via Electronic Means provide that "the electronic notifications are deemed to have been served… »
Permanent Injunction on the Infringing Pharmaceutical Products on the NPP List
Pharmaceutical products that are not licenced in Turkey and/or licenced but not have been made available to the market can be supplied by Turkish Pharmacists’ Association, Social Security Agency (SSA) and institutions and organizations that are deemed suitable for foreign drug supply by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (“Agency”) (“Foreign Drug Suppliers”) as per to the provisions of the Guideline on Drug Supply and Use from Abroad (“Guideline”). Pursuant to… »
Advertisement Board and Hygienic Products Ads
The advertisements and promotions pertaining to hygiene and health care products have increased in number in parallel with the necessities arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The advertisement types subject to special regulations of relevant legislation, including testimonial and comparative advertising practices, have been exercised. The diversity in the advertisements and promotions has been reflected in the decisions of the Advertisement Board and the fundamental notions… »
Draft Telemedicine Regulation Published
The Ministry of Health (MoH) published a draft Regulation on providing remote healthcare services (draft Regulation) and shared it with the stakeholders via the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association for feedback. The draft Regulation is not currently publicly available. The draft Regulation aims to address the legal gap on telemedicine which has become a more pressing concern due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most important provisions of the draft Regulation… »