Insights
Court of Cassation Overturns Longstanding Precedents on Cumulative Protection Afforded by Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition Provisions
Cumulative protection is no longer available in light of a recent Court of Cassation decision Trademarks are protected under the IP Code, but “name[s], title[s] or trademark[s]” are not covered by the unfair competition provisions under the new Commercial Code The decision will have a serious impact on pending cases In a recent decision that challenges longstanding precedents, the Court of Cassation has ruled that, in cases where trademark infringement has been found, it… »
PTO Decision Sheds Light on Protection of Well-known Trademarks
The PTO partially upheld HP Hewlett Packard’s opposition against a mark containing the element ‘HP’ based only on the likelihood of confusion ground On appeal, the board upheld the opponent’s well-known trademark claim Notably, the opponent’s evidence showed the HP marks used in a blue colour and the contested mark displayed the same colour The Re-examination and Evaluation Board of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has rejected a trademark application that… »
The Constitutional Court Rules that the Competition Board's On-Site Inspection Without a Judge's Decision Violates the Right to Immunity of Residence
In 2009, the Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”) had conducted a preliminary investigation to determine whether there was a violation of Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition ("Law No. 4054"), regarding restrictive agreements, concerted practices, and decisions about price, production, and sales information and forecasts among undertakings being members of the Automotive Distributors Association and the Automotive Industry Association. As a result… »
Regulation Amending the Regulation on Insurance Arbitration Has Been Published
The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Insurance Arbitration ("Regulation") entered into force following its publication in the Official Gazette dated 07 June 2023 and numbered 32214. Separate and aside from the additions made to the definitions article and the expanded duties of the Presidency of the Commission especially regarding the expert lists, the Regulation introduced specific arrangements regarding the working procedures of reporters and objection authorities and… »
Registry Practice Change Relating to Internal Directives for Representation of Companies
Istanbul Trade Registry (the “Registry”) published an announcement on its website regarding the issues to be considered regarding the scope and limits of representation authorization when preparing internal directives on representation. In joint stock and limited liability companies where the powers of the management body of the company are delegated to limited authorized representatives within the scope of an internal directive, it has become necessary to review the existing… »
PTO Issues Important Decision on Distinctiveness of Trademarksconsisting of Device Element and Descriptive Words
The Trademarks Directorate refused an application for a mark consisting of a device and the phrase ‘Clinical Trial Center’ due to a lack of distinctiveness The REEB upheld the applicant’s appeal, concluding that the phrase was not the main element of the mark The device element was sufficient to render the mark distinctive The Re-examination and Evaluation Board (REEB) of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has overturned a first-instance decision issued by the… »
Decision on Pricing of Human Medicinal Products Has Been Amended
On 14 March 2023, the Presidential Decree numbered 6932 Amending the Decision on Pricing of Medicinal Products for Human Use (“Decision”) was published in the Official Gazette numbered 32132. With the Decision, a new rule have been introduced on the real source price calculation completing the rule introduced in November 2022. With the prior amendment in the Decision in November 2022, a rule had been introduced stating that products that do not have a retail sale in the… »
Communiqué on Electronic Instructions For Use of Medical Devices Published (Turkey)
On 6 April 2023, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (Agency) published a new Communiqué on Electronic Instructions for Use of Medical Devices (Turkish language) (Communiqué) in the Official Gazette numbered 32155. The Communiqué replaced the version dated 2 April 2015 numbered 29314 and entered into force on the day of its publication. The Communiqué has been updated in line with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2226 of 14 December 2021 laying down rules for… »
Turkish MDR and IVDR Amended
On 2 April 2023, regulations amending the Turkish Medical Device Regulation (Turkish language) and the Turkish In Vitro Medical Device Regulation (Turkish language) were published in the Official Gazette numbered 32151. They amend he transitional provisions stipulated in the which was published in the Official Gazette numbered 31499 to be in line with the transitional provisions applicable to Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (MDR) and Regulation (EU) 2017/746 (IVDR). The… »
Overlapping Intellectual Property Rights - 2nd Edition
While intellectual property rights are mostly studied in isolation, in practice the legal categories created to protect these rights provide only partial legal coverage of the broader context in which such rights are created, used, and enforced. Consequently, often multiple IP rights overlap with respect to the same underlying subject matter. Contributed by our partners Uğur Aktekin and Mutlu Yıldırım Köse, Overlapping Intellectual Property Rights (Second Editon) published… »
Alternative Reimbursement Regulation published
As a consequence of lawsuits filed against provisions of the Alternative Reimbursement Regulation dated 10 February 2016, due to the regulation being published without obtaining the Ministry of Health’s opinion, the articles subject to the lawsuits were cancelled based on formal deficiency. On 12 May 2023, a Alternative Reimbursement Regulation (Regulation) was published in the Official Gazette numbered 32188 and entered into force on the date of publication. While the… »
Evaluating ChatGPT and AI Applications from the Personal Data Protection Perspective
AI Applications Under the Radar of Data Protection Authorities Concerns about how artificial intelligence (AI) systems use and store data collected from users have been frequently debated by data protection authorities and professionals dealing with data security and privacy issues lately. These discussions are kept in the public eye through decisions, publications, and press releases related to the subject. The Italian Data Protection Authority, Garante per la Protezione dei… »
News and Events
Our "Key Developments and Predictions for Trademark Law in Turkey" thought leadership paper launched
Our “Key Developments and Predictions for Trademark Law in Turkey” paper discusses the issues surrounding the interpretation and implementation of the key changes introduced by the IP Code. https://lnkd.in/gYnQ3es
Özge Atılgan Karakulak and Selin Sinem Yalıncaklı spoke on in MIP International Patent Forum 2019
Özge Karakulak and Selin Sinem Erciyas, partners in our Patents & Utility Models and Life Sciences practices, shared recent developments in Turkey on use requirement and compulsory license and patent enforcement in government's alternative supply methods at MIP-International Patent Forum 2019 in London on Mar 7. http://www.managingip.com/stub.aspx?stubid=34820
Hande Hançar to be panelist at 3rd Annual Advertising Law in the United States & Around the Globe Seminar
"Hande Hançar Çelik, partner and co-chair of our TMT practice, will be the panellist of ""Launching a Global Advertising Campaign"" panel, at 3rd Annual Advertising Law in the United States & Around the Globe Seminar which will be held in conjunction with Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance's Annual Meeting in New York, USA on March 21-22, 2019. For more details please see:…
Özge Karakulak moderated licensing, pricing and reimbursement processes panel
İlaç, Tıbbi Cihaz ve Sağlık Hukuku ve Patent ve Faydalı Modeller çalışma alanları ortak avukatımız @ÖZGE KARAKULAK moderatörlüğünde @Uluslararası Şeffaflık Derneği (Transparency International Turkey) tarafından 27 Şubat’ta düzenlenen İlaç Sektörü İş Birliği Programı – “Ruhsatlandırma, Fiyatlandırma ve Geri Ödeme Süreçleri” panelinde Funda Ekincioğlu, Dr. Sami Türkoğlu, Fatih Sarıöz ve Erkan Tetik tecrübelerini ve ileriye dönük çözüm önerilerini paylaştı.…
Our new senior associates announcement
"We are pleased to announce the promotions of Ilgaz Önder, İrem Girenes Yücesoy and Umut Tahiroğulları as our new senior associates. Ilgaz Önder, İrem Girenes Yücesoy ve Umut Tahiroğulları'nın kıdemli avukat olarak atandığını duyurmaktan mutluyuz. https://gun.av.tr/our-team/"
Gün + Partners World Intellectual Property Day event invitation
"World Intellectual Property Day You are cordially invited to our World Intellectual Property Day event on April 26 in İstanbul."
Hande Hançar spoke about Turkish advertising regulation
"At 3rd Annual Advertising Law in the United States & Around the Globe Seminar, panellists discussed about legal issues when launching a global advertising campaign. Hande Hançar Çelik, partner and co-chair of our TMT practice, gave tips about the Turkish advertising regulation during the event held in conjunction with Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance's Annual Meeting in New York, USA on March 21-22, 2019. https://gun.av.tr/cv/hande-hancar-celik/"
Özge Atılgan Karakulak will make the opening speech of The Annual IBA World Life Sciences Conference 2019
"Our partner Özge Atılgan Karakulak will make the opening speech as a co-chair of The Annual IBA World Life Sciences Conference (WLSC) 2019. The Life Sciences sector is deeply evolving, with many legal challenges. The IBA WLSC gathers more and more members every year and the 2019 conference will again be the occasion to share views and knowledge, enhance initiatives and contribute to valuing our constantly evolving legal practice on the field.…
Our theme for our World Intellectual Property Day event is “Women in IP, from Creation to Protection of Rights”.
We have set the theme for our World Intellectual Property Day event as “Women in IP, from Creation to Protection of Rights” to encourage participation of women in IP system in respect of innovation, creativity and protection of rights in Turkey. The event was opened with a speech of Professor Rana Sanyal, a scientist and entrepreneur. Our lawyers and world-renowned local and foreign speakers addressed the latest developments in IP law during the panels focused on…
Özge Atılgan Karakulak made the opening speech of IBA World Life Sciences Conference 2019
Özge Atılgan Karakulak, chair of our Life Sciences practice and vice chair of the IBA Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee, co-chaired IBA 7th Annual World Life Sciences Conference, held in Philadelphia, USA. https://www.ibanet.org/Conferences/conf956.aspx
Hande Hançar, TÜRKONFED KOBİ’ler için Gümrük Birliği Projesi Açılış Etkinliği'nde konuşmacı oldu
Ortak avukatımız ve Daha İyi Yargı Derneği yönetim kurulu üyesi Hande Hançar Çelik, TÜRKONFED - Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation tarafından düzenlenen KOBİ’ler için Gümrük Birliği Projesi açılış etkinliğine panelist olarak katıldı. Türkiye'nin mevcut Gümrük Birliği anlaşmasında Avrupa Birliği ile arasındaki anlaşmazlıkları nasıl çözdüğü, dünyadan ilgili örnekleri ve anlaşmanın güncellenmesi halinde bu anlaşmazlıkların nasıl ele alınacağı hakkında görüşlerini…
Mehmet Gün, Uğur Aktekin, and Özge Karakulak have been listed in IAM Strategy 300
"Congratulations to Mehmet Gün, our founding partner, Uğur Aktekin and Özge Atılgan Karakulak, co-chairs of our Intellectual Property Practice, for being listed in IAM Strategy 300 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists. https://www.iam-media.com/search?search=g%C3%BCn+%2B+partners&order=&directories%5B%5D=4 "