Insights
A New Era in .Tr Extended Domain Names - and a New Issue Waiting for a Solution
Nic.tr (".tr" Domain Name Management), established under the auspices of Middle East Technical University ("METU"), has been managing ".tr" domain names and dispute resolution processes related to these domain names since 1991. According to Article 35 of the Electronic Communications Law No. 5809 and the Internet Domain Names Regulation, TRABIS (".tr" Network Information System), established by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority ("BTK"), became… »
Decision on Pricing of Human Medicinal Products Amended with New Price Calculation
On 14 March 2023, the Presidential Decree numbered 6932 Amending the Decision on Pricing of Medicinal Products for Human Use (Turkish Language) (Decision) was published in the Official Gazette numbered 32132. The Decision introduces a new calculation for the real source price of products where the source price cannot be determined with the Presidential Decree numbered 6365 Amending the Decree on Pricing of Medicinal Products for Human Use that was introduced in November 2022… »
Medicines and Medical Devices Agency Publishes Guideline on Co-Marketing
On 17 February 2023, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (Agency) made an announcement (Turkish language) on its official website that it had published a Guideline on Human Medicinal Products that are Co-marketed (Guideline). The Guideline came into force on the day of its publication. The Guideline aims to provide guidance on licensing of co-marketed human medicinal products, cancellation or suspension of the main product's marketing authorisation and… »
Law on the Protection of Personal Data and Its Application
On April 7, 2016, the Law on the Protection of Personal Data (“Law”) came into force in Turkey as a special law regarding the protection of personal data. The Law is a step towards harmonising Turkish legislation with EU legislation, and it was prepared based on Directive 95/46/EC on data protection (“Data Protection Directive”). Although the Law is very similar to the Data Protection Directive, certain principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) were also… »
Lawful Personal Data Processing
Personal data can be processed based on the following legal grounds: If explicit consent of the data subject is obtained. If processing is clearly proposed. If processing is mandatory for the protection of life or to prevent the physical injury of a person in cases where that person cannot express consent or whose consent is legally invalid due to physical disabilities. If processing is necessary for and directly related to the establishment or performance of a contract and… »
Explicit Consent under Data Protection Law
Explicit consent has been defined as consent that relates to a specified issue, declared by free will, and based on information. As the definition suggest, the Law stipulates that no kind of “blanket consent” of not limited to a specific subject or transaction will be valid. For example, consent such as "I allow all kinds of data processing activities", will not suffice under the Law. The data subject must know for what s/he is giving consent and must clearly express his/her… »
Notification Obligation to Tax Office for Registered Transactions in the Trade Registry is Abolished
The General Communiqué no. 546 on Tax Procedural Law (the "Communiqué") which determines the procedures and principles regarding the acceptance of the notifications made electronically by the Ministry of Trade to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance (the "Ministry") from the transactions registered in the trade registry as notifications made by taxpayers was published in the Official Gazette dated 18 January 2023, to be effective as of 1 February 2023. Within the scope of the… »
New Regulation on Named Patient Programs is Published
Pharmaceuticals that are not authorized in Turkey and/or not available in the market despite being authorized, shall be procured from abroad upon request of physicians and special authorization in cases where patients require such pharmaceuticals. Until recently, this exceptional import regime for pharmaceuticals was regulated by the Guideline on the Supply of Pharmaceuticals from Abroad published by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency ("Agency"). On February 3… »
Turkey's Ongoing Decline In Corruption Perception Index
Transparency International’s annual report 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (“CPI 2022”), aiming to measure the perceived level of public sector corruption based on various sources with the contributions of businesspeople, NGOs and country experts, was released on January 31, 2023. The index ranks 180 countries/territories by their perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). CPI is regarded as one of the most credible… »
Transfer of Personal Data to Third Parties
Sensitive and non-sensitive personal data may be transferred to third parties if the data subject’s explicit consent is obtained or if one of the additional legal grounds is applicable for such transfer. The Law does not define a third party; therefore, any individual or entity (other than the data controller and the data subject) may be considered a third party. This creates a problem, especially about transfers between data controllers and data processors, as there is no… »
Transfer of Data Abroad
Sensitive and non-sensitive personal data can be transferred abroad if the data subject’s explicit consent is obtained. Furthermore, other legal grounds will also apply to transferring personal data to a foreign country. However, the destination country must have “sufficient protection” to conclude the transfer abroad based on legal grounds (except for having obtained explicit consent). The Board will determine a list of jurisdictions that provide sufficient protection. The… »
Data Breach Notification
The Law requires data controllers to notify the relevant data subject and the Board as soon as possible after becoming aware of a data breach. In its decision dated January 24, 2019, and numbered 2019/9, the Board clarified the rules and procedures applicable to data breach incidents. The Board took the GDPR approach regarding the timing of breach notifications and clarified that “as soon as possible” within the Law must be interpreted as 72 hours from becoming aware of a… »
News and Events
IAM Patent 1000 - The World's Leading Patent Professionals Rankings 2022 Announced
The 2022 edition of the IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals has been released online.We are proud to announce that we have been recognised as the top tier firm and our 6 practitioners are recognized as the leading individuals in the IAM Patent 1000 - The World's Leading Patent Professionals 2022. The guide is the definitive resource for those seeking to identify world-class individual and firm-wide private practice patent expertise.
Burcu Sucuka Is Outlining the Use of a Patent and Declaration of Use in Turkey
The use requirements in Turkey and submitting evidence for proving the use of a patent are the subjects about which we receive questions from our clients the most. In our video, Burcu Sucuka is outlining the use of a patent and declaration of use in Turkey. Further details are available in our thought leadership paper. https://gun.av.tr/thought-leadership/patent-law-in-turkey-key-developments-and-predictions-2021
Our IP Partners Are Listed in WIPR Leaders 2021
Mehmet Gün, Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, Güldeniz Doğan Alkan and Uğur Aktekin, partners in our intellectual property practice, are listed in the WIPR Leaders 2021 from Turkey. The guide profiles the leading IP executives across the world. The handbook lists over 1,700 lawyers across patent, trademark, and copyright practices after a four month nomination period in which they sought views from 12,000 IP professionals. In order to reach the WIPR Leaders 2021 please click here.
Announcement of 2021 Lawyer Promotions
We are pleased to announce the promotions of Begüm Soydan and Direnç Bada as our new senior associates. https://gun.av.tr/people
Dicle Doğan Has Been Listed Among Euromoney Expert Guides - Rising Stars 2022
We are delighted to see Dicle Doğan, managing associate in our life sciences practice, has been listed among Euromoney Expert Guides - Rising Stars 2022. Expert Guides identifies the world’s leading lawyers, advisers and legal practitioners based on extensive peer review. https://www.iflr1000.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Expert-Guides-Rising-Stars-2022/Index/13724
Hande Hançar Is Giving "IP Law" Course at TOBB University during 2020-2021 Academic Year
Hande Hançar, partner in our IP practice, is giving "IP Law" course at TOBB University of Economy & Technology, Faculty of Law as a visiting lecturer during 2020-2021 academic year Fall semester.
Baran Güney to Speak at the Sectoral Orienteering Event
Baran Güney, senior associate in our TMT practice, will evaluate the legal framework of Advertisements on Social Media at the Sectoral Orienteering event organized by Özyeğin University. https://so.ozyegin.edu.tr/tr/so22-bahar
Mehmet Gün to moderate "Managing the dispute" panel at GC Summit Turkey
"Mehmet Gün, our founding partner will be moderating the panel on ""Managing the dispute"" at GC Summit Turkey by The Legal 500 (Legalease) in Istanbul on Sep 26, 2019 with the panellists Emre Derman, Board member of Akbank and Turcas and Andrew Savage, Partner of McDermott Will & Emery. Click below for more information: https://lnkd.in/dFBXUp2"
Congratulations to Our Lawyers Recognized by WWL, They Have Listed Among the Best Lawyers in Their Expertise
Congratulations to our lawyers recognized by WWL, they have listed among the best lawyers in their expertise.WWL findings are based on recommendations and feedback from eminent private practitioners in the sector or industry in question as well as from corporate counsel or other clients who have worked closely with the nominees. Over the past 23 years, WWL is one of the most trusted resources for in-house counsel, government, agency and other legal practitioners seeking to…
Our 2022-2023 Legal Interns Joined Us
Congratulations and a warm welcome to our 2022-2023 legal interns!
Dicle Doğan Has Been Awarded as Rising Star by Euromoney Legal Media Group's "Rising Stars Europe Awards 2020"
Dicle Doğan, managing associate in our life sciences practice, has been awarded as rising star by Euromoney Legal Media Group's "Rising Stars Europe Awards 2020" which aims to recognize the achievements of a distinguished and select group of emerging talent within leading firms.…
Dilan Sıla Kayalıca, Maral Büyükkürkçü and Zeynep Çağla Üstün, Are Listed as Rising Star by Euromoney's MIP IP STARS 2022
We are delighted to announce Maral Büyükkürkçü, Zeynep Çağla Üstün, and Dilan Sıla Kayalıca, our new generation lawyers in our intellectual property practice, are listed among rising stars by Euromoney's MIP IP STARS 2022. IP STARS is the leading specialist guide to IP law firms and practitioners worldwide since 1994. https://www.ipstars.com/Firm/Gun-Partners/Profile/101593#lawyers