Latest Developments on Administrative Revocation of Trademarks!
While the relevant article regulating the transfer of authority to examine the requests for revocation of trademarks to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“the Office”) was not yet entered into force and there were still a level of uncertainty concerning the procedure, the first development in this regard took place on October 23, 2023 when the Office published and opened the “Draft Regulation for Amendment of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial… »
Constitutional Court Annulled the Sanction for Non-Attendance to Mandatory Mediation
Article 18/A of the Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes ("Mediation Law") stipulates that, should the mediation process end due to one of the party’s failure to attend the first meeting without a valid excuse, that party shall be liable for all litigation costs, regardless of whether they partially or fully succeed in the subsequent lawsuit. In addition to that, no attorney fee shall be awarded to such party. The Constitutional Court recently examined… »
The Draft Regulation About Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Data, Turkish Standard Contractual Terms and Binding Corporate Rules Guidelines
Within the framework of the amendments to the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (the “Law”), which will come into force on 1 June 2024, the draft regulation on cross-border data transfer was being expected and has now published by the Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (the “DPA”) for commentary from public in general. For consideration of data controllers and data processors, major issues set forth under the draft regulation are as follows: Cross-Border Transfers… »
How Turkey Tackles Trademark Applications Infringing Upon Copyrighted Works
We love iconic movies, animated TV series, comics, cartoons, and platform games, and enjoy making them a part of our daily life, perhaps by drinking a cup of coffee with a mug bearing a Hogwarts logo or wearing pyjamas featuring Mickey Mouse. They are not just fictional works but also symbols with a cultural effect and commercial value. This often leads to unauthorised use of the titles and characters of these copyrighted works and any other associated signs, both at a… »
Riddle of Applicable Application Fee in Enforcing Foreign Judgments
Under Turkish law, the rules governing the collection of trial fees are regulated by the Law of Fees No. 492 (Law no. 492) and the applicable fees are under Tariff 1 of the Law no. 492. Article 4 of Law no. 492 also explicitly refers to Tariff 1 in terms of the fees applicable in the actions for enforcement of foreign judgments stating that the applicable fee will be determined according to the value, type and nature of the verdict. The general rule under Tariff 1 is when the… »
Recent Changes Regarding the Determination of Companies Subject to Independent Auditing
The Decision Amending the Decision on Determination of Companies Subject to Independent Auditing ("Amendment Decision") was published in the Official Gazette dated April 6, 2024. The Amendment Decision provides significant changes to the independent auditing thresholds compared to the Decision on Determination of Companies Subject to Independent Auditing, which was put into effect by Presidential Decree No. 6434 and applied until January 1, 2024 ("Decision"). Accordingly… »
European Union Artificial Intelligence Act Approved: What Does It Entail in Terms of Copyrights?
*The Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) Act was approved by the members of the European Parliament on March 13, 2024. Although the AI Act does not include a direct regulation in regard to copyrights, it is seen that the obligations imposed on AI providers in Article 53 are intended to prevent copyright infringements. Generative AI models such as ChatGPT, BERT, LaMDA, DALL-E2, which enable the creation of original content by processing data such as text, image and sound, are now… »
Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency Published the Industry Report on Medical Devices
On April 4, 2024, the Industry Report on Medical Devices, prepared by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency ("Agency") to present the current state of the market together with recent developments in the medical device industry, was published on the Agency’s website. The Industry Report on Medical Devices includes assessments of global developments in the medical device industry, statistical information on the Turkish market, and explanations of the current… »
Ban on Foreign Currency Payment in Certain Sale of Goods Contracts Lifted
With the amendment made to the Communiqué on the Decree numbered 32 Regarding the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency (the "Communiqué"), effective as of April 21, 2022, for buyers residing in Türkiye, except for vehicle sale contracts, in the event that there is an agreement in the sale of goods contracts that all payments under the contract are to be made in foreign currency or indexed to foreign currency, it was regulated that these obligations must be… »
How to Evaluate Social Responsibility in Advertisements?
The Advertisement Board ("Board") made a striking decision at its meeting on January 9, 2024. The decision is based on the provision of the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices ("Regulation") which emphasizes the necessity of taking economic and social responsibility into consideration in advertisements. The decision in question pertains to the introduction of the collection titled “The Jacket” by the global textile giant Zara on their… »
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Copyright
AI technologies and generative AI models enabling the creation of original content by processing text, images, sound and other data have been a hot topic of this year. Should the outputs generated by AI be copyrighted work, if so who owns the rights, and copyright infringement by use of AI have been widely discussed. The general rule appears to be that an AI cannot have rights to the works it generates and that only human creativity can enjoy copyright protection. In the… »
PTO Issues Exemplary Decision Clarifying Concept of ‘Bad Faith’
The PTO has refused an application for MA MONDE FRESHEN UP & SHINE following an opposition by a foreign cosmetics company The fact that the applicant sought to register a sign identical to the opponent’s trademark could not be a mere coincidence The Trademarks Department also considered the opponent’s trademark registrations and usage abroad, as well as the applicant’s bad faith The Trademarks Department has found that the application for MA MONDE FRESHEN UP &… »