Insights
Strategic Battlefield in Combating Counterfeiters: Turkish Riviera, West and South Coast of Türkiye
With a coastline of almost 9,000 kilometers and over 550 blue flag beaches, Türkiye welcomes millions of domestic and foreign tourists during the summer season each year. The most popular area for summer vacations is known as the Turkish Riviera, comprising the cities of Antalya and Muğla in particular, and also some parts of Aydın and Izmir, encompassing the main districts of Alanya, Antalya, Kemer, Fethiye, Marmaris, Bodrum, Kuşadası and Çeşme from the south to the west… »
New Legislation on IP Infringement on e-Commerce Platforms
Law No. 7416, amending E-Commerce Law came into effect on January 01, 2023. This law obliges e-commerce platforms to take down a product if they receive a legitimate complaint alleging that a violation of intellectual and industrial property rights has occurred on their platform. According to Law No. 7416, the general principle is that the intermediary service provider (i.e., the platform) is not responsible for the illegality of the content offered by the service provider.… »
Challenges and Opportunities When Combatting Counterfeits in Turkey
It is not a secret that Turkey has an important geographical location for production and sales of counterfeit products as well as the ones in transit. Most of the smuggled products entering Turkey also turn out to be counterfeits. This requires brand owners to take an active role in Turkey to combat the counterfeits, cover all possible basis, and also seek alternative and creative approaches. There are certain civil and criminal actions that can be taken while combatting… »
New e-commerce Regulation Sets Out Details of Takedown Procedure For Infringing Content
A new regulation complementing Law No 7416 on e-commerce came into effect on 1 January 2023 The regulation clarifies the takedown procedure upon receipt of a legitimate complaint by an IP rights holder While this will help rights holders to take down infringing products quickly, ambiguities regarding the procedure may still create problems in practice Background A new law on e-commerce (No 7416), which was published in the Official Gazette dated 7 July 2022, came into… »
Claiming Compensation for IP Infringement
IP right owners suffer a huge amount of damages in some IP right infringement cases as they invest substantial amounts for their rights. Therefore, compensation claims are of vital importance for IP right owners in order to recover their damages, protect reputation and have a deterrent impact on the infringing party. Since every IP right infringement act is primarily a tort, it is necessary to prove the wrongful act, fault of the infringing party, incurred damage and the… »
Apples and Oranges: Uncontested Invoices and Binding Contracts
Introduction The answer to the question of whether invoices can create legally binding contracts is generally no; an invoice does not constitute a contract by itself. However, the issue becomes tricky when the recipient has not objected to the content of an invoice or has recorded it in its accounting books. In that case, the legal presumptions that apply to the evidentiary status of invoices and accounting books can indicate that the invoice and the product or service… »
Polo Player v Jockey: Analysing The Turkish Trademark Department’s Device Marks Decision
The Trademarks Department of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (the Trademarks Department) has recently highlighted, in a dispute where the similarity of device marks and the well-known status argument were primary issues, that the evidence submitted in response to a proof-of-use request proved to be critically important to the success prospects of the opposition file. Opposition grounds and device mark differences The device trademark application shown below… »
How Automotive Associations and Law Firms Can Combat Counterfeit Auto Parts Together
Auto Spare Parts and Distribution Ecosystem The automotive industry relies on highly technical products that do not reach end users directly. Instead, these products are distributed through dealers, service centres, mechanics, and authorised resellers, who play a critical role in ensuring that genuine products reach the end user. For instance, essential annual maintenance activities such as spare part replacement, oil refilling, and system updates are carried out by these… »
Litigation and Enforcement 2024 in Turkey
What are the main dispute resolution methods used to resolve large commercial disputes? The main and most commonly used method for resolving large commercial disputes in Turkey is litigation. Civil litigation is based on the principle that the parties to the dispute prepare their case. The judge is bound to hear claims, defences and evidence brought by the parties. However, the judge is entitled to make a legal assessment ex officio. The management of proceedings is at the… »
Letter of Commitment For Evictıon: Issues of Proof
Due to economic fluctuations in Turkey in the recent years, landlords have been seeking to increase rent prices and tenants have not responded favorably to these requests which eventually lead to an increase in disputes over eviction. Particularly in residential and commercial property leases, due to the unique and stringent conditions imposed by the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6698 (“the Code”) on the termination of lease agreements and the eviction of tenants, landlords… »
Does the Covid-19 Pandemic Constitute a Justified Reason for non-use?
The defendant in a non-use revocation action argued that the pandemic was a force majeure event which had compelled it to cease using its trademark temporarily The court disagreed, holding that the mark at issue, registered for personal care goods in Class 3, should have been used even more intensively during the pandemic The pandemic will not, in itself, be accepted as a justified reason for non-use in revocation actions After the covid-19 pandemic was declared globally… »
Works on Artificial Intelligence in Türkiye : Summary of the Activities of the AI Commission
The Parliamentary Research Commission on Determining the Steps to Be Taken to Maximize the Benefits of Artificial Intelligence, Establishing the Legal Infrastructure in This Field, and Identifying Measures to Prevent the Risks Associated with the Use of Artificial Intelligence (“Commission”) was officially established on January 14, 2025, and effectively concluded its mandate with its final meeting on May 13, 2025. During its term of activity, the Commission addressed not… »
News and Events
Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş, Spoke at the UN Global Compact Türkiye Webinar
Our partner Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş spoke as a panelist at the “Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence – Solutions and Good Practices” session of the webinar organized by UN Global Compact Türkiye. The panel focused on ethical decision-making processes in AI-based applications, the prevention of bias and discrimination, and mechanisms for transparency and accountability, and included the sharing of practical examples and case studies.
We Completed Our 2024-2025 Legal Intern Evaluation Process
We have completed our legal intern evaluation process for the 2024-2025 period. We would like to thank all our candidates who showed great interest and applied. Welcome to our legal interns who will be with us from September. Hilal Gökdeniz, Yağmur Karakışla, Damla Köse, Meryem Çalışkan, Ayşe Erdoğan, Özge Dağlı, İpek Baltacıoğlu, İdil Kanadoğlu, Aysu Kevser Ergin, Miraç Tan Demirkale, Tuğçe Korkmaz, Ayşegül Aydemir, İsmail Arslan.
Beril Yayla Sapan and Asena Aytuğ Keser Recognized in Who's Who Legal: Commercial Litigation 2023
We congratulate Beril Yayla Sapan and Asena Aytuğ Keser on being selected among world’s leading practitioners in the Who's Who Legal: Commercial Litigation 2023 WWL: Commercial Litigation provides an in-depth analysis of the foremost litigators around the world who are singled out for their outstanding ability within this contentious context, as well as standout practitioners aged 45 or younger as future leaders in the market. WWL says: Beril Yayla Sapan is a top name in…
We Delivered Combating Counterfeiting at Customs Trainings in İzmir
Our Anti-Counterfeiting team delivered presentations at the in-service training sessions organized by the General Directorate of Customs on December 5-6, 2023, in Izmir. These sessions, attended by customs officers from the Aegean Customs and Foreign Trade Regional Directorate, focused on the protection of intellectual and industrial property rights at customs. Our lawyers represented clients from the automotive, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, textile, and food industries…
Zeynep Seda Alhas comments about the counterfeit products in Turkey in The Guardian
Turkey is the third biggest exporter of counterfeit products to the EU after China and Hong Kong, according to data on the value of goods seized. Falls in the value of the Turkish lira and the deterioration of the Turkish economy are further fuelling demand as such items become cheaper to traders buying in euros. Zeynep Seda Alhas, partner in our Anti-Counterfeiting practice shares her comments with Elif Ince for The Guardian article.…
Özge Atılgan Karakulak Moderated a Panel at IBA's "Hot topics in Technology, Communications and Intellectual Property Law" Online Event
Özge Atılgan Karakulak, co-chair of IBA - IP and entertainment law committee and partner in our patent and utility models practice, was the moderator of the "Patents in a Pandemic" panel at IBA - "Virtual roundtables: Hot topics in Technology, Communications and Intellectual Property Law" online event. https://www.ibanet.org/conference-details/CONF2114
Hande Hançar is Outlining the Alternative Methods for Claiming Compensation for Trademark Infringement in Turkey
Recovery of damages is one of the most important initiatives of IP owners to protect their IP portfolio. In our video, Hande Hançar is outlining the alternative methods for claiming compensation for trademark infringement in Turkey. Further details are available in our thought leadership paper.
Mehmet Gün comments in the Financial Times
Mehmet Gün, our founding partner, comments in the Financial Times on the latest decree on prohibition of Turkey residents’ FX contracts. https://lnkd.in/gW8Shxk
Webinar: World IP Day - Access to Medicine, Compulsory Licensing and Protection of Patent Rights
Access to vaccine and patent rights have never been more important and debatable. This year Gün + Partners would like to celebrate World IP Day focusing on this delicate topic and sharing insights from practitioners Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, Selin Sinem Erciyas of Gün + Partners and Camilla Balleny of Carpmaels & Ransford.
Özge Karakulak, spoke on compliance environment in life sciences industry in Turkey at the Seton Hall Law School program
Özge Atılgan Karakulak, chair of our Life Sciences practice, shared her experience on compliance environment in life sciences industry in Turkey at Middle East Healthcare Compliance Certificate program organized by Seton Hall Law School faculty in Dubai, U.A.E. https://law.shu.edu/compliance/health/middle-east/speakers.cfm
Gün + Partners have won Deloitte Turkey‘s Best Managed Companies Award
"Gün + Partners have won Deloitte Turkey‘s Best Managed Companies Award! We are the first and only law firm to receive this recognition in Turkey. A huge thank you and congratulations to the team! Our Partner Özge Atilgan Karakulak said: “We are honored to be named one of the Best Managed Companies in Turkey. We are happy to share this award with each member of our firm who works hard to provide excellent services to our clients.” Deloitte’s leading business awards program…
Gün + Partners Ranked in the IAM Patent 1000 - The World's Leading Patent Professionals 2025
The 2025 edition of the IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals has been released. We are proud to announce that we have been recognised as the top tier firm and our 8 practitioners are recognized as the leading individuals in the IAM Patent 1000 - The World's Leading Patent Professionals 2025. The IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals is a comprehensive guide to top private practice patent experts and expert witnesses worldwide, based…