Insights
Data Protection in Advertisements
The Advertisement Board (“Board”), during their meeting dated 12 March 2024 and numbered 343, examined websites that require membership as a pre-condition for making purchase on the website. As part of this examination, the Board assessed whether any additional personal data, beyond the mandatory and necessary information for the purchase process, was requested from consumers, whether the conditions for unsubscribing were more difficult compared to the methods specified for… »
Hidden Traps in Subscription Agreements: Dark Patterns
The Advertisement Board (“Board”) closely monitored dark patterns on online user interfaces that facilitate consumers to enter into subscription agreements, and which might deceive, coerce, manipulate consumers into making choices that may not be in their best interests. Dark patterns are broadly considered deceptive commercial practices under the Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices Regulation which defines “The use of guiding interface designs, options, or… »
Decisions of the Advertisement Board on the Use of Google Ads
During its meeting in March 2024, the Advertisement Board examined sponsored advertisements placed by certain companies via Google Adwords/Google Ads, in which registered trademarks of competitor firms were used as keywords. Accordingly, the Board imposed a suspension penalty on advertisements where a company's trade name and trademark used to identify its services were selected as keywords by other companies, on the grounds that such advertisements were misleading to… »
Is It Really Better?
Article 8 of the Regulation on Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices (“Regulation”) permits comparative advertisements under specific conditions. Subparagraph (a) of the paragraph 1 of the article requires that such advertisements “should not be misleading or deceptive”, while subparagraph (f) mandates that “claims based on objective, measurable, and numerical data must be substantiated by scientific tests, reports, or documents”. The Regulation also… »
The New Era in Administrative Sanctions of the Advertisement Board
In 2024, significant changes and developments occurred regarding the administrative sanctions of the Advertisement Board. The Law No. 7529 on Amendments to the Consumer Protection Law and Certain Other Laws, published in the Official Gazette No. 32707 dated 30 October 2024, introduced significant changes as of the date of publication, particularly concerning the administrative fines imposed by the Advertisement Board and the reconciliation against administrative fines. The… »
Turkish Regulation on the Implementation of the Administrative Revocation of Trade Marks Is Finally Published
With the entry into force of the Industrial Property Code no. 6769 (“IP Code”) on 10 January 2017, the administrative revocation of trade marks has been introduced into Turkish Trade Mark Law and revocation proceedings are entrusted to the Turkish Patent and Trade Mark Office (“the Office”) instead of Turkish Courts. However, the implementation of administrative revocation was postponed for 7 years, and during this transition period, revocation requests continued to be filed… »
The Concept of Loss of Rights due to Acquiescence in Trademark Infringement Actions
The acts deemed as infringement of a trademark are listed under Article 29 of the Industrial Property Code No. 6769 (“IP Code”), and the claims that the right holders whose trademark rights have been infringed may request from the courts and that they may assert against the infringing party are detailed in Article 149 of the same Code. Although it is possible for the right holder to assert the claims outlined in the Code against the infringing party as long as the… »
The Electrolux - BSH Decision of the CJEU: The Next Step for Jurisdiction in European and Global Patent Infringement Cases
On February 25, 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered a groundbreaking judgment in the patent infringement case between BSH Hausgeräte GmbH and Electrolux AB, marking a significant ruling not only in Europe but worldwide. This decision is expected to pave the way for the expansion of jurisdiction in patent cases in EU member states and increase competition among courts in the international arena. The dispute was brought before the CJEU as a… »
New Regulation on Electronic Maintenance of Commercial Books Not Related to the Accounting of the Business
With the Communiqué on Maintenance of Commercial Books Not Related to the Accounting of the Business in Electronic Form (the “Communiqué”) published in the Official Gazette dated 14 February 2025, it has become mandatory for companies to keep their commercial books not related to the accounting of the business electronically as of July 1, 2025. Books and Enterprises within the Scope of the Communiqué The commercial books, which have been made mandatory to be kept… »
Developments Regarding the Implementation of Share Buyback Programs Initiated by the Board of Directors of Publicly Traded Companies
According to the first paragraph of Article 5 of the Communiqué on Share Buybacks No. II-22.1 (the “Communiqué”), a share buyback program can only be approved by a general assembly resolution. However, an exception to this rule is provided in the fourth paragraph of the same article, which states that a share buyback program may also be approved by a board of directors resolution without the need for a general assembly resolution, in order to avoid an imminent and serious… »
Significant Developments in the Implementation of the Turkish Commercial Code in 2025
Existing Facilitations for Capital Loss and Over-Indebtedness Calculations are Extended until 2026 Article 376 of the Turkish Commercial Code numbered 6102 (the “TCC”) regulates the measures to be taken and the precautions to be implemented by the board of directors of the company, and the procedures to be followed in cases where the company suffers capital loss or becomes over-indebted, to ensure the protection of the financial structure of the company and to secure the… »
The Limits of Colour Combination Trademarks: Insights from the Blue-and-White Colour Combination Case
The case involved a well-known clothing retail company’s blue-and-white colour combination mark, which was opposed by a cosmetics company The courts found that the colour combination lacked distinctiveness for the relevant goods and services The case highlights the PTO’s role in examining colour combinations based on absolute grounds during ex ofcio proceedings Under trademark law, distinctiveness is essential for a mark to function as a source identier, especially when it… »
News and Events
Uğur Aktekin is an Instructor for the International Certificate Program of the International Trademark Association (INTA)
Uğur Aktekin, partner of our Intellectual Property practice, is an instructor in the INTA International Certificate Program: “The Lifecycle of a Trademark”. The course is structured into six chapters each dedicated to exploring the nuances of trademark registration in specific global regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America and Middle East. Uğur Aktekin is the moderator and one of the instructors of the Middle East chapter of the program. Learn…
Begüm Soydan Sayılkan and İrem Girenes Yücesoy spoke at the “Living Brands Conference"
Begüm Soydan Sayılkan and İrem Girenes Yücesoy recently spoke at the “Living Brands Conference” organized by EGİAD on December 18, 2023. They focused on the development of brand protection strategies and discussed the new trademark revocation procedure effective from January 10, 2024.
We Hosted the 17th FRIDAY IP TALKS Event, Which was Organized in Collaboration Between LES Turkey and AIPPI Turkey
The event featured speakers Güler Ayyıldız Dalma, Barış Atalay, and Utkan B. Bakırcı, and focused on the topics of "Unitary Patent" and "Unified Patent Court" through questions and answers related to implementation.…
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…
We gave training on Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Customs
Our Anti-Counterfeiting team made presentations with 8 lawyers for 24 of our clients during the “Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Customs Training” organized with the General Directorate of Customs in Istanbul on April 10-11. "
Mehmet Gün and Pelin Baysal spoke at Turkish-Ukrainian Infrastructure Forum
"Mehmet Gün, our founding partner made the opening speech and Pelin Baysal, co-chair of our dispute management practice spoke on the "Dispute resolution: preventing and resolving disputes efficiently" panel at "Turkish-Ukrainian Infrastructure Forum: Creating Opportunities Together" in Kyiv, Ukraine, organized by our firm together with Ukrainian Arbitration Association (UAA), International Turkish Ukrainian Businessmen Association (TUID) and Integrites."
Our Lawyers Have Been Recognised as Mondaq Thought Leading Authors
We are delighted our lawyers have been recognised as Mondaq Thought Leading Authors for the below categories at the Mondaq Autumn 2023 awards. Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment & Data Protection: New Regulation From ICTA On Social Network Providers Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences: New Regulations on Nutrition and Health Claims for Food and Food Supplements Mondaq Autumn 2023 Thought Leadership Awards, showcase top authors based on total readership between April…
We Are the "Firm of the Year in Turkey" by WWL Awards 2023
We are pleased to announce that our firm has been recognized as the "Firm of the Year in Turkey" by Who's Who Legal. Our partners Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş and Beril Yayla Sapan represented our firm at the award ceremony held at The HAC in London. Each year Who’s Who Legal identifies the individuals and firms that have performed exceptionally well in their research. After an in-depth assessment of the findings, Who’s Who Legal announces awards for the leading firms in over 70…
We are Proud to Announce that Our Firm and Our Lawyers have been Recognized at the LMG's Life Sciences Awards 2023 EMEA
We are proud that our firm named as "EMEA White Collar Crime Firm of the Year" and our partners, Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş, recognized as “EMEA Antitrust Competition Lawyer of the Year” and Beril Yayla Sapan recognized as “EMEA White Collar Crime Lawyer of the Year” by LMG's Life Sciences Awards 2023 EMEA. The LMG Life Sciences EMEA Award winners have been announced at a live gala ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton in London. Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş and Beril Yayla Sapan…
We Attended the ITechLaw 2023 European Conference
Our firm was represented by Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş, partner in our Technology, Media and Telecom, and Data Protection and Privacy practices at the ITechLaw 2023 European Conference taking place in Amsterdam on 18 - 20 October.
We Attended IBA Annual Conference in Paris
Our firm was represented by Özge Atılgan Karakulak, Advisory Board Member of IP and Entertainment Law Committee, and Görkem Bilgin at the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference 2023 in Paris.
Simultaneous Raids in Istanbul Resulted in the Seizure of 160 Thousand of Counterfeit Leather Goods & Sneakers
We conducted simultaneous raids against four manufacturers located by our in-house investigation team in Istanbul, with the attendance of 120 police officers this week. The raids have been conducted in high tension due to riots and resulted in the seizure of 160,000 pieces of high-end counterfeits, including 40,000 pieces of leather bags, wallets, sneakers etc., and 120,000 pieces of semi-finished goods and production materials, which are worth around 1 million…