Insights
Fixed Exchange Rate in Pricing of Pharmaceuticals and its Impact
The prices of pharmaceuticals to be launched on the market are determined in accordance with the Decision on the Pricing of Medicinal Products for Human Use (“Decision”) and the Communiqué on the Pricing of Medicinal Products for Human Use (“Communiqué”) dated 29 September 2017, published by the Ministry of Health, which has been authorised to regulate this area. The Decision foresees a reference pricing system in which the lowest wholesaler price for the relevant product in… »
Market Availability of Products and Parallel Trade
Counterfeit and illicitly traded health products remained a persistent concern in Türkiye throughout 2025, as reflected both in enforcement statistics and in external reporting on supply chain integrity. Despite the legal prohibition on the online sale of pharmaceutical products, there has been a noticeable increase in the circulation of counterfeit medicines through online channels, alongside growing reports of products being illicitly exported from Türkiye to foreign… »
Plant Protection Products: Digital Governance and Traceability
Plant protection products (“PPPs”) are defined in legislation in a broad and highly technical manner. They include preparations used to protect plants and plant products against harmful organisms or to prevent their effects, excluding products intended solely for plant nutrition. These products may also influence plant growth, control or prevent undesirable developments, or eliminate unwanted plants, and typically consist of one or more active ingredients that work… »
Food Supplements
Following the structural changes introduced in 2023 to the regulatory framework governing health claims on food and dietary supplements, the subsequent period has been characterised less by new legislative intervention and more by regulatory consolidation and practical implementation. The removal of mandatory prior administrative approval for health claims has remained in effect, reshaping the compliance landscape by shifting greater responsibility onto economic… »
Healthcare System Reforms
In July 2025, Türkiye introduced Law No. 7557, bringing wide-ranging updates to the healthcare system. These reforms aim to modernise services, improve efficiency, and strengthen oversight, responding to growing healthcare demands and technological developments. For the life sciences sector, several provisions are particularly relevant: Physicians and dentists are now limited to practicing in a maximum of two healthcare institutions, marking a shift toward tighter workforce… »
Medical Devices: New Sanctions and Technical Service Governance
Recent regulatory developments in the medical devices sector point to a shift from procedural compliance toward enforcement-driven market discipline, coupled with a gradual restructuring of technical service governance. A major inflection point in this trajectory was the entry into force of Law No. 7557 in July 2025, which introduced Additional Article 20 to the Basic Law on Health Services. This provision significantly expanded the administrative sanctions framework… »
Interactions with Healthcare Professionals, Transfer of Values and Conditions of Payment
Interactions between life sciences companies and healthcare professionals (“HCPs”) in Türkiye continue to be governed by a well-established regulatory framework. In the pharmaceutical sector, promotional activities remain subject to the Regulation on the Promotion of Medicinal Products for Human Use, which strictly limits promotion to healthcare professionals and prohibits direct or indirect advertising to the public. Engagements such as consultancy and service arrangements… »
Regulatory and Judicial Trends Shaping Access to NPP Products
NPPs operate as special import regimes that enable access to medicines that are either not authorised in Türkiye or are temporarily unavailable on the domestic market, upon the request of a treating physician. Fundamentally designed to address urgent or exceptional patient needs, the NPP framework has gradually evolved into a more structured and regulated supply mechanism. A significant step in this evolution was the entry into force of the Regulation on the Importation of… »
Market Access - Alternative Reimbursement Models
Alternative reimbursement models in Türkiye provide pathways for innovative medicines to gain coverage outside standard pricing rules, allowing the Social Security Institution (“SSI”) to negotiate terms such as discounts, budget caps, or other arrangements. These models, formalised under the 2016 Regulation on Alternative Reimbursement and updated in 2023, aim to improve patient access while managing healthcare expenditures. The Regulation on Alternative Reimbursement… »
GSK Succeeds in Bad Faith Case in Türkiye
This article examines a lawsuit concerning the use of a trademark, after it was registered in Türkiye by a third party, with the aim of threatening infringement proceedings against the company that is the rightful owner of the mark and evaluates how the courts protect the genuine rights holder against bad faith registration. Background The dispute concerned the bad faith registration of a trademark that had previously been registered in Türkiye in the name of Stiefel… »
Trademark Applications Made in Bad Faith and the Assessment of Bad Faith in EU Law under the CP13 Common Practice
In European Union (“EU”) legislation relating to trademark law, the concept of bad faith in trademark applications is not explicitly defined, nor are its boundaries clearly established. Although EU case-law provides significant guidance on the concept, it has been observed that there are different interpretations in practice and there are challenges in regard to achieving uniformity, making it difficult to foresee the manner in which assessment of claims of bad faith are… »
Administrative Revocation of Trademarks is Now Fully in Effect!
In accordance with Article 26 of the Industrial Property Code (“IP Code”) no. 6769, interested persons may request the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“the Office”) to revoke a trademark. The authority to revoke the trademarks had belonged to the IP Courts. However, with the entry into force of the IP Code on January 10, 2017, this authority has been granted to the Office. In order to provide a transition period, the entry into force of Article 26 had been postponed for… »
News and Events
We are Attending the 10th IBA Global Entrepreneurship Conference in Vienna
We are pleased to announce our participation at the 10th IBA Global Entrepreneurship Conference, which will be held in Vienna on 17-19 May 2026 and extend an invitation for a potential meeting during the event. Görkem Bilgin, partner, will be representing Gün + Partners at the conference. If you are interested in exploring collaboration opportunities or simply reconnecting, please feel free to get in touch with him. We eagerly anticipate the prospect of meeting you…
Özge Atılgan Karakulak Will Be a Speaker at INTA 2026 Annual Meeting in London
We are pleased to announce that Özge Atılgan Karakulak, partner in our Life Sciences and Patents and Utility Models practices, will be a featured speaker at the INTA 2026 Annual Meeting in London. She will be a speaker in the panel session titled 'Leading the IP Charge: Strategic Skills for Non-Patent Professionals,' taking place on May 6, 2026. This session addresses a critical modern challenge: leading a high-performing IP team without a technical patent background.…
We are Attending the 12th Annual IBA World Life Sciences Conference in Lisbon
We are pleased to announce our participation in the 12th Annual IBA World Life Sciences Conference, held in Lisbon from 3–5 June 2026. This year’s agenda addresses the life sciences industry's most pressing challenges, from AI data rights and global patent litigation to M&A strategies in uncertain markets. Our partner, Özge Atılgan Karakulak, will serve as a conference co-chair and will also moderate the panel: "Where will innovation go next? Global pharma strategies…
Our Anti-Counterfeiting Team Participated in the "Combating Intellectual Property Crimes" Training Organized by the Turkish National Police Force
We were pleased to take part in the “Training on Combating Intellectual Property Crimes” held in Istanbul on March 27, 2026, organized under the coordination of the Intellectual Property Crime Department of the Turkish National Police Force, representing our clients as a team. The event brought together 115 enforcement officers and IP unit managers, alongside representatives of nearly 180 brands. Although hosted in Istanbul, participation extended nationwide, with officers…
Gün + Partners Recognized in The Legal 500 EMEA 2026 Rankings
We are proud to announce that Gün + Partners has achieved Top Tier rankings in 3 out of the 9 practice areas in which we are ranked. This recognition reflects the strength and dedication of our team across a broad range of practices. We are also pleased to share that several of our practitioners have been individually recognized for their excellence: Hall of Fame: Uğur Aktekin (Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment) Leading Partners: Hande Hançar (Media and…
Proud to Announce Our Recognition in The Chambers Europe & Global 2026 Guides!
This year, our firm achieved rankings across 5 practice areas in Chambers Europe 2026 and 3 practice areas in Chambers Global 2026 including Corporate/M&A, Employment, TMT, IP, Litigation, and International and Cross-Border Capabilities. 6 of our lawyers recognized in the lawyer rankings: Uğur Aktekin: Band 1 (Intellectual Property) Beril Yayla Sapan: Spotlight Ranking (Employment) Özge Atılgan Karakulak: Band 3 (Intellectual Property) Görkem Bilgin: Band 3…
Beril Yayla Sapan is Attending the IBA Annual Litigation Forum in Madrid
We are pleased to announce our participation at the IBA Annual Litigation Forum - The World has lost its Compass: we need to talk about Litigators!, which will be held in Madrid on 15-17 Apr 2026 and extend an invitation for a potential meeting during the event. Beril Yayla Sapan, partner, will be representing Gün + Partners at the conference. If you are interested in exploring collaboration opportunities or simply reconnecting, please feel free to get in touch with her. We…
Our Team Will be Attending the INTA 2026 Annual Meeting in London
Our team - Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, Direnç Bada, Güldeniz Doğan Alkan, Hande Hançar, Mutlu Yıldırım Köse, Özge Atılgan Karakulak, Uğur Aktekin, Zeynep Seda Alhas, and Pınar Arıkan are attending INTA’s 2026 Annual Meeting in London, England. As always, the Annual Meeting will be a great opportunity to engage with fellow IP professionals, discuss the evolving global IP landscape, and reconnect with friends and colleagues from around the world. If you’ll be there and would like…
Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş is Attending the 9th IBA Mergers and Acquisitions in the Technology Sector Conference in Barcelona
We are pleased to announce our participation at the 9th IBA Mergers and Acquisitions in the Technology Sector Conference, which will be held in Barcelona on 12-13 Mar 2026 and extend an invitation for a potential meeting during the event. Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş will be representing Gün + Partners at the conference. If you are interested in exploring collaboration opportunities or simply reconnecting, please feel free to get in touch with her. We eagerly anticipate the…
Beril Yayla Sapan is Attending the Annual IBA Employment and Diversity Law Conference 2026 in Warsaw
We are pleased to announce our participation at the Annual IBA Employment and Diversity Law Conference 2026, which will be held in Warsaw on 22-24 Apr 2026 and extend an invitation for a potential meeting during the event. Beril Yayla Sapan, partner, will be representing Gün + Partners at the conference. If you are interested in exploring collaboration opportunities or simply reconnecting, please feel free to get in touch with her. We eagerly anticipate the prospect of…
We Support JIPA and JETRO’s Anti-Counterfeiting Mission in Türkiye
Last week, we were delighted to support and accompany the Japanese Intellectual Property Association (JIPA) and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) during their visits to Istanbul and Izmir. In Istanbul, we held productive meetings at Bakırköy Courthouse and İstanbul Courthouse, with the Chairs of the respective Judicial Commissions, focusing on the challenges in obtaining search and seizure warrants in anti-counterfeiting processes and the increasing challenges of…
Announcement of 2026 Partner and Senior Associate Promotions
We are pleased to announce the continued growth of our firm with the promotion of Asena Aytuğ Keser, Direnç Bada and Yalçın Umut Talay to partner, and Uğur Erkırlı to senior associate, effective 1 January 2026. Asena Aytuğ Keser has specialized in complex dispute management, commercial litigation and arbitration since joining the firm in 2011, providing strategic counsel to national and international clients across a wide range of disputes, from employment-related to…