Turkish Patent Institute Reconsiders Absolut Refusal
A trademark application consisting of a 3D multi-visual representation of the famous Absolut vodka bottle filed for Class 33 alcoholic beverages was initially rejected by the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) on absolute grounds, as the application was found devoid of distinctive character under Article 7(a) of Trademark Decree Law 556. In response to an appeal, the TPI board held that even though there were no sufficient grounds to declare the application inherently… »
Court Appoints Former Partner as Gratuitous Bailee to Preserve Company Books
Introduction Under Article 82 of the Commercial Code (6102/2011), merchants are obliged to preserve company books and records, such as daybooks, inventories, general ledgers and general assembly decision books. The obligation to preserve a company’s books extends to post-liquidation, as per Article 544 of the Commercial Code, which provides that a company’s books and records must be preserved following the end of the liquidation process in accordance with Article 82. Article… »
New Draft Industrial Property Law in Progress
After being opened for the public consultation by The Turkish Patent Institute (“TPI”), the Draft Industrial Property Law (“Draft Law”) was sent to Turkish Parliament for the final vote. The Draft Law contains provisions on trademarks, patents, industrial designs and geographical indications which are currently addressed by separate Decree Laws. The Draft Law clarifies and enacts some issues which have been developed by the courts and are accepted by TPI on the basis of… »
Data Protection Issues in Turkey
In the meantime, the long awaited Data Protection Law (the “Law”) entered into force on April 7, 2016 just days after the news of Turkey’s biggest data breach. For many years, Turkey had lacked a separate legislative measure regarding the issue of data protection. Previous draft laws that had been sent to the Turkish Parliament were either returned to the proposing committee or not even discussed. Adoption of data protection law was a real need both for the Turkish society… »
Talking Turkey
In order to comply with the codification system of the Turkish law further to the decisions of the Constitutional Court, a draft IP law (the Draft I Law) has been prepared by the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) relating to all IP rights other than copyrights. On 24 February 2016, The Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology circulated the Draft Law on the TPI’s website, with the consultation ending on 4 March 2016. When enacted, the Draft Law will replace the decree-laws… »
IP Court Rejects Court of Appeal View on Second Medical Use Claims
In 2014 the Istanbul IP Court held that second medical use claims granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) under the European Patent Convention 1973 were null and void (for further details please see “IP court finds second medical use claims to be medical treatment methods”). This surprising decision was the first issued by the IP Court and thus was closely followed by various stakeholders, particularly IP lawyers and pharma companies. In particular, Turkish patent law… »
New Law on the Protection of Personal Data is on the Way
n April 7 2016 the long-awaited Law on the Protection of Personal Data was published in the Official Gazette. While many of the law’s provisions came into effect on the publication date, the implementation of some key provisions has been postponed until six months after publication.The Law on the Protection of Personal Data establishes the framework for a central data protection regime, which Turkey had been lacking, and clarifies many areas of uncertainty regarding issues of… »
Pharmaceutical Advertising 2016, Turkey Chapter
1. General – Medicinal Products 1.1 What laws and codes of practice govern the advertising of medicinal products in your jurisdiction? In Turkey, advertising of medicines is governed by the Pharmaceutical and Medical Preparation Law No. 1262 (the Law No. 1262) and the Regulation on Promotional Activities of Medicinal Products for Human Use (the Promotion Regulation), which is based on the former. The Promotion Regulation is published on July 3, 2015 by replacing the former… »
An Appetite for the Uncertain
Upon confirmation of International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran has completed the necessary preparatory to start the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on January 16, 2016, both the US and the EU announced that certain economic and financial sanctions have been lifted. However, it should worth noting that there are still several sanctions directly applicable to US companies and enterprises which prevent them from benefiting from the lifted nuclear… »
Turkey Welcomes the Long Awaited Data Protection Law
The Law introduces an obligation to register and fines up to €300,000. Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş examines Turkey’s new data protection law. For many years, Turkey has lacked separate legislation on the issue of data protection. Previous draft laws that have been sent to the Turkish Parliament were either returned to the proposing committee or not even discussed before the Grand Assembly as Parliament was being dissolved before a general election. However, following the recent… »
Procedures and Strategies for Pharmaceutical Brands
Pharmaceutical trademarks, like all other trademarks, are governed by Decree-Law 556 on the Protection of Trademarks. Before filing a trademark application, an availability search for the phrase to be filed should be conducted in the official database of the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) to eliminate or reduce the risk of refusal or infringement. Selection, clearance and registration Relevant national and international regulatory bodies and requirements Pharmaceutical… »
Draft Industrial Property (Rights) Law Includes Compulsory Licence Provisions
On May 5 2016 the draft Industrial Property (Rights) Law passed the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology commissions with minor amendments. One of the most debated issues was the application of the doctrine of international exhaustion of IP rights to all IP rights (for further details please see “Turkey poised to adopt doctrine of international exhaustion”). Another hotly debated issue covered in the draft law is the inclusion of compulsory licensing provisions in the… »