TPI appointed as ISA and IPEA
On October 6 2016, the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) has been appointed as an International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) during the 56th series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO. The process was started with the application of TPI filed in March 2016 before the WIPO and first the advice of the PCT Committee for Technical Cooperation was sought. During the… »
Sponsorship Exemption for Medical Device Simulation Centres and Cadaver Centres for Surgical Training
Introduction The Regulation on the Sale, Advertisement and Promotion of Medical Devices was amended by a new regulatory measure published in the Official Gazette on September 22 2016. The amendments introduce new provisions regarding: the notification of changes to sales and promotion staff; where medical device sales centres can be opened; and exceptions to activities considered to be scientific and educational meetings. The third provision will make significant changes to… »
Turkey: Automatic Enrolment in Private Pension Plans
An amendment to the Law on Private Pension Savings and Investment System Act 2001 (the ”Law”) was recently published and introduced automatic enrolment for employees in private pension plans. Under the amended Law employees (including public sector employees) aged under 45 shall be automatically enrolled in a private pension plan arranged by the employer. The amended Law sets out the employer’s contribution for the plan as 3% of the employee’s average earnings, including… »
Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits, Turkey Chapter
1. Provide an overview of the primary sources of law, regulation and practice that govern or affect executive compensation arrangements or employee benefits. There is no specific source of law applicable in relation to executive compensation arrangements or employee benefits. Such arrangements or benefits for both executives and non-executive employees are mostly regulated under individual employment contracts or internal regulations. The benefits to be provided to… »
Is 4X4 Equal to 8X4 Under Trademark Law?
The Ankara Third Civil Court of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights recently ruled on the confusing similarity between the well-known trademark 8X4 and the trademark FASHION 4X4. The court cancelled the decision issued by the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI), which concluded that the trademarks 8X4 and FASHION 4X4 were not confusingly similar under Article 8/1(b) of Decree-Law 556 on the Protection of Trademarks. FactsA company operating in the cosmetics sector applied… »
Turkey’s Court of Constitution Officially Recognizes Right to be Forgotten
While the world has already discussed, debated and come to a conclusion by adopting different measures and amendments regarding the right to be forgotten, Turkey has also taken some firm steps forward with the decisions of the Court of Appeals in the way of establishing the right to be forgotten. The evaluation of the right to be forgotten in light of the fundamental rights has never been done before, until March 03, when the Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled to a parallel… »
Accessing The Turkish Medical Devices Sector: A Promising Combination Of Opportunities and Challenges
As the fifteenth largest economy in the world and with a population of 80 million, Turkey presents an exciting opportunity for investment and development in the area of healthcare. In addition to a growing population which is covered by an extensive social healthcare system, Turkey has implemented a policy in recent years to capitalize on its reputation as a regional hub for healthcare tourism. However, despite the financial opportunities that are associated with the Turkish… »
Law on Improvement of the Investment Environment
Law On Improvement Of The Investment Environment The Law Amending Certain Laws for Improvement of the Investment Environment (Amendment Law) was accepted by the Turkish Parliament on July 15 2016 and entered into force on August 9 2016. The Amendment Law, which was accepted by the Turkish Parliament just hours before the failed coup attempt is significant in the sense that it shows that the government started to focus on developing the economy before its focus shifted again… »
Preliminary Injunction Granted in Favour of Second Medical Use Patent
Large inventor companies that rightfully obtain patents for their inventions often face a number of invalidation actions. Alternatively, the threat of infringement may be such as to require the patent holder to file infringement actions against companies whose products may infringe its patent. The two occasionally come together, with the allegedly infringing generic company filing an invalidation action against the patent holder in response to an infringement action; commonly… »
Distribution and Marketing of Drugs in Turkey: Overview
Pre-conditions for distribution 1. What are the legal pre-conditions for a drug to be distributed within the jurisdiction? Authorisation Under the Regulation on Licensing of Medicinal Products for Human Use (Licensing Regulation) (Official Gazette No. 25705 of 19 January 2005), no medicinal product for human use can be marketed unless it is licensed in Turkey. The licence is issued by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (Agency) of the Turkish Ministry of… »
Turkey: Compulsory Licensing in The Draft Ip Law
The draft Industrial Property Law in Turkey was passed by the main and sub commissions of the Science, Industry and Technology Ministry with minor amendments on May 5 2016. As shared in the issue of May 25 2016, one of the most debated issues was the international exhaustion principle, accepted for any kind of IP rights. Another much debated issue of the draft law is about compulsory licensing provisions in the patent part of the draft law. The Patent Decree Law in force also… »
Amendments to Postponement of Bankruptcy Rules
Introduction On July 15 2016 Parliament enacted an omnibus bill which amended several laws. The Law on the Amendment of Some Laws to Improve the Investment Environment focuses on: reducing costs in relation to the investment environment; eliminating the legal differences in relation to R&D incentives; harmonising practices among financial institutions; encouraging foreign investment; and reducing the costs of establishing companies and opening branches. Conversely, the… »