Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 Has Been Released
Introduction Transparency International announced the results of the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (the “2018 Index”) on January 29, 2019. As known, this study has been carried out and published by Transparency International since 1995, and reflects the public sector corruption perspective of experts, non-governmental organisations and representatives of the business world on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). When compared to the 2017 results, Turkey… »
Minister of Health Announces That Prices of Medicines Will Be Raised by 26,4% from 19 February 2019
The Euro exchange rate used for approval of medicine prices in Turkey is determined as per the Decision on Pricing of Human Medicinal Products (“Decision”). The Euro exchange rate which has long been fixed to TRY 1.9595 and not updated according to the current rate was determined as 70% of the average Euro value of the previous year by the new Decision which was published on 24 February 2017. Accordingly, the Price Evaluation Commission would gather within the first 45 days… »
The New Personal Data Protection Law 2019 in Turkey
On 7 April 2016, a new law on the protection of personal data came into force in Turkey, Data Protection Law 6698 (Data Protection Law). It is the first law of its kind, regulating the protection of personal data, and also introducing many new obligations that persons or entities dealing with personal data (data controllers) must comply with. Until 2016, the protection of personal data, except for certain regulated sectors, was regulated by a single provision in the Turkish… »
One Last Step Before Litigating Your Commercial Receivables: Mandatory Mediation
Introduction In order to improve time and cost efficiency, in recent years the Turkish legislature has created legal initiatives to encourage private parties to settle through compromise rather than litigation. In this regard, mandatory mediation for commercial receivables has been recently introduced via the Law on Legal Procedures to Initiate Proceedings for Monetary Receivables arising out of Subscription Agreements (Law 7155) with new articles being added to the… »
Could a Reduction in a State’s Income Violate Public Policy – A View on Turkey?
The Public Policy Exception as an Unruly Horse There is an ongoing quest for a uniform application of the New York Convention. However, the interpretation of the exceptions to enforcement still varies. Albeit applying the same provisions, national courts continue to adopt different approaches to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. This is particularly true where the public policy exception is raised under Art. V(2)(b). Considerable debate exists as to what the public… »
Turkish IP Court Delays Invalidation Action After Considering European Patent Convention
A Turkish generic company filed an invalidation action against a leading US pharmaceutical originator company in Turkey and requested the invalidation of its patent – a Turkish validation of a European patent granted by the EPO. The opposition proceedings were still pending before the EPO at the filing date of the invalidation action in Turkey. The patent owner subsequently requested a delay of the national proceedings, stating that the patent claims could still be amended… »
Mandatory Mediation Introduced for Patent Disputes in Turkey
As per Article 20 of the Commencement of Execution Proceedings in Monetary Receivables Arising from Subscription Agreements Code, Article 5/A was incorporated into the Turkish Commercial Code on 1 January 2019. The article introduces mandatory mediation for claims involving commercial receivables. The new provisions do not apply to pending lawsuits before first-instance courts, regional civil courts or the Court of Cassation. Applications for mediation must be finalised… »
Mediation now Mandatory for Monetary-related IP Disputes
Mediation now mandatory for claims relating to commercial receivables As civil suits falling under IP-related codes are considered as commercial actions, mediation is now mandatory for certain types of IP disputes It is expected that mediation will become mandatory for other types of IP disputes Discretionary mediation was first introduced into the Turkish legal system in 2013 by Law No 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes as one of the alternative dispute resolution… »
Privacy Issues in M&A Transactions in Turkey
Among other things, privacy issues in mergers and acquisitions now attract the attention of transaction parties. Privacy risks/issues in mergers and acquisitions used to be overlooked or underestimated. However, these days, conducting adequate due diligence on privacy issues and mitigating risks associated with a target’s privacy-related liabilities, as well as requesting privacy-related representations and warranties, are common in merger and acquisition transactions. The… »
Ex Parte Injunctions in Turkish IP Law
Although they are legally available, ex parte injunctions are quite rare in Turkish IP practice. The IP courts almost always reject requests for ex parte injunctions, preferring to evaluate the alleged infringement only after hearing both parties. However, in a recent case, the IP Court unexpectedly granted a request for an ex parte injunction, due to the urgent nature of the matter. The request for an ex parte injunction was filed against a company in Argentina. The company… »
Turkish Government Introduces Restrictions on use of Trademarks on Tobacco Products
Law Amending Some Laws and Decree-Laws Related to Health No 7151 entered into force on 15 November 2018 Under Article 24, tobacco goods produced in, or imported into, Turkey shall be offered for sale using plain and standardised packaging Issues surrounding plain and standardised packaging to be addressed by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry regulation The control of tobacco consumption has been one of the top priorities of the Turkish government, and several measures… »
2019 Legislative Predictions for Turkey
Apart from an economic slow-down, one can say that 2018 has been productive and looked promising for Turkey from a privacy perspective. We have seen considerable efforts and attempts from the data protection authority, as it has been active in meeting with the practitioners, academics, organizing trainings and seminars, and issuing new guidelines, and regulations. We have seen more data breach decisions rendered by the DPA and these shed a light to the practice and claims… »