Significant Amendments to the Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial Property Code
Amendments to the Turkish Property Code were published in the Official Gazette on 8 July 2019 Notarised signature declarations/notarised signature circulars are no longer required for a number of procedures It is hoped that this will eliminate paperwork and speed up processes at the Patent and Trademark Office The Turkish Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial Property Code, which is the main regulation for industrial property rights, has been amended by a… »
Liability of Board Members Without Representation Authority for Social Security Institution Debts
The Turkish Constitutional Court rules in its decision dated May 30, 2019 and having the application number of 2015/11192 and also published in the Official Gazette numbered 30836 and dated July 19, 2019 (the “Decision”) that holding the board of director’s members, not having any representation authority, jointly and severally liable with the joint stock company for the Social Security Institution (“SSI”) debts does not violate proprietary right of the concerned member of… »
Victory for Red Bull as Trademark Office Refuses Application for Blue and Grey Colour Mark
Red Bull opposed an application for a colour combination mark for goods in Class 32 based on earlier colour/device marks for identical goods The examiner found, among other things, that there was no risk that the application would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctiveness or well-known status of Red Bull’s marks The board disagreed, finding that the application was confusingly similar to Red Bull’s marks and might mislead consumers as to the source… »
Filing an Abridged Application Within Terms of RDP Does Not Constitute Unfair Competition
Co-published Regulatory data protection (RDP) terms are dealt with only in the Licensing Regulation of the Ministry of Health (MoH). In principle the provision grants the protection of data for six years following the first marketing authorisation for a drug granted in the European Union. However, there is no mechanism to prevent a generic drug company from using the data before the term expires. The MoH interprets the provisions as granting market exclusivity and allows… »
Justification of Court Decisions – an Overview
The justification of court decisions is regarded as a fundamental right and a key element of the right to a fair trial (ie, the right to a reasoned decision). This right is protected by Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights, the Turkish Constitution, the Code of Civil Procedure and Supreme Court precedents. Legislation The Constitution and the Code of Civil Procedure set out general rules regarding the justification of decisions. Article 141 of the Constitution… »
Brand Owners Must be Careful About Bringing Criminal Action for Infringement
The enforcement of trademark infringement crimes is not exofficio in Turkey. In other words, trademark owners have to file a criminal complaint to start criminal IP proceedings for each and every case. Thus trademark owners have to take into consideration beforehand, all possible risks that might occur in a worst case scenario, especially counterclaims which could include damages figures put forward by infringers if no fake products can be seized during an actual raid or even… »
The Importance of Evidence Gathering for Criminal Cases
In Turkey, the prosecution of criminal offenses in trademark law depends on a proper complaint filed by the trademark owner. Once the complaint and the evidence is submitted to the local prosecutor’s office, the file is brought before the local Criminal Court. The Criminal Courts, however, become more and more reluctant to issue the decisions recently. Hence, it is now more important than ever for the trademark owners to be well-prepared before filing the complaint, in terms… »
Mandatory Mediation In Labour Disputes – an Overview
On 1 January 2018 applying to a mediator was made a prerequisite when filing a lawsuit concerning monetary claims by employees or employers arising out of employment contracts, collective labour agreements or reinstatement claims. As a result, parties must now apply for mediation before filing a lawsuit; otherwise, the lawsuit will be rejected due to the absence of a prerequisite. Mandatory mediation was introduced to accelerate legal proceedings and lower the costs in… »
Turkey’s New Ban on Setting Salaries in Foreign Currencies
As a result of a presidential decree aimed at protecting the value of the Turkish lira, residents in Turkey are now prohibited from agreeing to the value of monetary obligations in a foreign currency (or indexed to a foreign currency) in certain types of contracts, including employment contracts. Presidential Executive Decree 85 was published on September 12, 2018, amending Decree 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency and became fully effective on October 13… »
IP Court Decisions Cast Doubt on Preliminary Injunctions
Co-published It has become common for a plaintiff in an invalidation or determination of non-infringement action to demand a precautionary injunction against a defendant patentee to prevent it from enforcing its patent rights against the plaintiff, although there is no explicit legal provision for this in the Turkish Patent Law or procedural law. The grounds on which such demands are based are highly questionable, considering that a patent term is limited and the period… »
Turkey: Generic vs. Innovator, Damages Action, Second Civil Court of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights in Istanbul, 1111/222 E. (2222/333 E.), 20 September 2013
Headnote The Turkish Court of first instance held that the liability for damages arising from an unfair preliminary injunction (where no infringement was found in the action on the merits) is a type of strict liability and therefore did not investigate whether the defendant was at fault when ruling that the conditions for compensation were deemed to be fulfilled. The decision given in this case is the first known decision in Turkey for the compensation of damages arising from… »
Turkish IP Court Issues First Pharma Damages Ruling
The Istanbul Court of Intellectual and Industrial Property has ordered a patentee to pay €333,000 to the manufacturer of a generic pharmaceutical, after an injunction was unfairly granted against the manufacturer’s product. However, both parties are appealing the decision – the first in this area. The IP Court initially granted a precautionary injunction against the manufacturer after a court-appointed expert panel opined that otherwise there would be a risk of patent… »