Evaluation of the Likelihood of Confusion Between Weak Trademarks
General Assembly of the Civil Chambers of the Court of Appeals, Turkey, Merit No 2013/11 – 52; Decision No 2013/1416, 02 October 2013 In a landmark decision, the Assembly of Civil Chambers has determined that a likelihood of confusion will arise between trade marks by accepting the word ‘diamond’ in trade marks subject to comparison as a fundamental element, although it was descriptive of the goods in respect of which the trade marks were registered and used. This note… »
The Product Regulation and Liability Review, Turkey Chapter, 2nd Edition
I INTRODUCTION TO THE PRODUCT LIABILITY FRAMEWORK In Turkey, there is no specific law on product liability but the provisions related to product liability are set out within various basic codes in Turkey: the Law of Obligations No. 6098 and the new Turkish Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 (the TCP Law), which was published in the Official Gazette on 28 November 2013 and entered into force on 28 May 2014. In addition to the above codes, the Law on the Preparation and… »
Turkey’s Nuclear Ambitions
Turkey’s efforts to bring nuclear energy into its energy mix dates back to the 1950’s. However, it was not until May 2010 that Turkey took its most concrete step towards nuclear power, signing an agreement with Russia for the construction of its first plant. This has been followed by an agreement signed with Japan in May 2013 for the construction of a second nuclear power plant. The Turkish government is also working on different scenarios for the construction of a third… »
Ministry of Health Announces E-pulse Project
Introduction In Communiqué 2015/5, the Ministry of Health recently announced the start of an e-pulse project which aims to provide: improved health services (by reducing the length of diagnosis and treatment); prevent the repetition of unnecessary examinations; and reduce government expenditure. The e-pulse project will in principle allow people to place their digital health data online. When establishing the system, the Ministry of Health, among other things, referred to… »
TPI Recognises Well-Known Status of JAVA Marks
In a decision rendered in January 2015, the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) has recognised that the JAVA marks are well known in the software sector, and concluded that there was a risk that the application for JAXA (No 2013/97550) could take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the reputation or distinctive character of the JAVA marks. The application for JAXA, which covered all the services in Class 42 of the Nice Classification, was published in the Official Trademark… »
Lawyer Monthly Interviews
Every month. Lawyer Monthly’s In Profile: An Interview With … feature speaks to experienced lawyers to find out about their work. any recent changes within their practice area. what motivates them and the challenges they face. This month. we speak to Mehmet Gun from Gun+ Partners in Istanbul, Turkey. You have recently published a book on Advocacy profession In Turkey. 500 copies of the first edition have already been finished. Congratulations! Apparently It Is the first of… »
Litigation & Dispute Resolution 2015, Turkey Chapter
1 LITIGATION 1 Preliminaries 1.1 What type of legal system has Turkey got? Are there any rules that govern civil procedure in Turkey? Turkey’s legal system is based on civil law. Civil procedure is governed by the Code of Civil Procedure (“the CCP”) dated 01.10.2011 and numbered 6100. There are also some specific procedural rules regulated by the Turkish Commercial Code and the Code of Labour Courts, etc. 1.2 How is the civil court system in Turkey structured? What are the… »
A New Age of Personal Data Protection Dawns in Turkey
A draft Turkish bill, inspired by the European Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, contains the building blocks for a privacy regime which would introduce such concepts as prior notification of data subjects, registration with the data protection regulator and restrictions on data transfers. In this article, Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş, Bentley James Yaffe and Alp Turan, Senior Associate, Associate and Trainee respectively at Gün + Partners in Istanbul, discuss the relevant… »
Turkey: Arbitration in Focus
Beril Yayla Sapan and Neslisah Borandı of Gün + Partners examine the Turkish International Arbitration environment. November 20, 2014 saw the long-awaited Law on the Istanbul Arbitration Centre passed in Turkey, coming into force in early 2015. The law forms part of the government’s over arching plan to support the economy through financial reforms – all with the aim of promoting Turkey as an attractive international financial centre. The new law establishes the Istanbul… »
TPI Issues Landmark Decision on Effect of Earlier Marks in Pending Opposition Proceedings
If a party had followed such a strategy before a recent decision issued by the Re-Examination and Evaluation Board of the TPI, the opposition against the new application would most probably have been rejected by the TPI on the ground that the application was based on a valid earlier registration and that the TPI does not have any legal obligation to wait for the finalisation of a court action. Further to such decision, the party would probably have waited for the registration… »
Insurance&Reinsurance 2015, Turkey Chapter
1 Regulatory 1.1 Which government bodies/agencies regulate insurance (and reinsurance) companies? The insurance regulatory agency in Turkey is the Insurance Undersecretariat of the Treasury (the “Undersecretariat”). As it is positioned under the Prime Ministry, it is not an independent body. 1.2 What are the requirements/procedures for setting up a new insurance (or reinsurance) company? An insurance company in Turkey can only operate in the form of a joint-stock company or… »
IP Court Interprets Scope of Bolar Exemption
A global pharmaceutical company filed a patent infringement action against a local generic pharmaceutical company on the grounds that the generic company had been granted an abridged marketing authorisation referring to the original pharmaceutical’s dossier. The generic company also applied for inclusion on the Social Security Institution (SSI) reimbursement list. The originator company claimed that its original pharmaceutical was protected via a patent, and thus there was a… »