Insights
Turkish DPA Fines Meta and WhatsApp Try 5,3m For Failure to Fulfill Their Registration Obligation to the VERBIS
The Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (the “Turkish DPA”),concerning the investigation initiated ex officio, into Meta and WhatsApp which processes the personal data of the data subjects in Turkey and is subject to the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 (“Law”) over imposed an administrative fine of TRY 2,665,000 (approx. EUR 128,560) separately for failure to fulfill their Data Controller’s Registry (VERBIS) registration and… »
Data Controllers’ Registry (VERBIS)
According to Article 16 of the Law, an obligation to register in the Data Controllers Registry (“VERBIS”) has been introduced for data controllers. In 2018, the Board issued decisions granting exemptions from the registration obligation to specific professional groups, associations, and political parties. The Board also granted a general exemption to data controllers residing in Turkey with less than 50 employees and less than TRY 25 million on their balance sheets. Data… »
Consequences of Data Breach
The Law provides for both administrative fines and criminal liability where data breaches have occurred. Regarding criminal penalties, the Law refers to the relevant provisions of the Turkish Criminal Code that details sanctions for the unlawful recording, disclosing, or transferring of personal data. In addition to criminal sanctions, the Law also contains provisions detailing administrative fines applicable in a breach. Four breaches have been defined under the Law: The… »
Judicial Review of Board Decisions
The Law does not include an explicit provision concerning the process for appealing Board decisions that impose administrative fines. However, it is accepted that criminal courts of peace are the authorised courts under Law No. 5326 on Misdemeanours dated 30/3/2005 since the title of Article 18 of the Law is “Misdemeanours,” and administrative fines are issued as per Article 18 of the Law. With this in mind, decisions imposing behavioural sanctions can be appealed before… »
How Does Turkey's Judicial System Fare With Respect to Gender Diversity?
The increasing importance of gender equality and the inclusion of women is a significant indicator of development. One of the goals set out under the Strategic Plan of 2019-2023 issued by the Ministry of Justice is to increase the number of judges, public prosecutors and judicial personnel. The Strategic Plan provides that, as a strategy to achieve this goal, the principle of gender equality in the recruitment of judges, public prosecutors and other personnel will be taken… »
Guidelines on Cookies Applications
The Board prepared the Guidelines on Cookies Applications (“Guidelines”) explaining cookies and practical advice for data controllers who process personal data through cookies. The Guidelines was published on the official website of the DPA on June 20, 2022. Within the Guidelines, cookies in general and their types are regulated. Moreover, the types of cookies are categorised based on their timeframe, intended purpose and parties. The relationship between the Electronic… »
DELPHI v DEPLHI: PTO’s Decision Sheds Light on Interpretation of Bad Faith
Delphi Technologies opposed the registration of DEPLHI in Classes 1, 3 and 4 based on its earlier mark DELPHI The board found that the goods covered by the application were similar and related to the goods/services covered by the earlier mark, as they were all used in the auto spare parts sector ‘Delphi’ has no meaning in Turkish and it was unlikely that this word would have been chosen as a trademark as a coincidence In a recent decision, the Re-examination and Evaluation… »
Turkish DPA Fines Tiktok Try 1.75m For Inadequate Data Security Measures
The Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (the “Turkish DPA”) published, on 1 March 2023, a summary of its Decision No. 2023/134 concerning the investigation into TikTok over its data protection measures and imposed a fine of TRY 1,750,000 (approximately EUR 87,500) against the company. The decision of the Turkish DPA is very significant especially for service providers also targeting Turkish residents and children in Turkey. Also the Turkish DPA is not the first… »
Planned Amendments to the Law on the Protection of Personal Data
Processing Sensitive Personal Data Amendments to the law have been drafted by the Board and introduce some modifications to specific disputed provisions of the Law. These have been presented to relevant institutions and organisations for their consideration. The articles to be amended are Article 6, regulating the legal grounds for processing sensitive personal data and Article 9, regulating the transfer of personal data abroad. Under Article 6 of the Law, explicit consent… »
Evaluation of the Decision to Block Access to Ekşi Sözlük within the Scope of Freedom of Expression
Most recently, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority ("ICTA") blocked access to Ekşi Sözlük, one of today's largest internet communities. Although the access ban was canceled by the decision of the Ankara 4th Criminal Court of Peace, as a result of the objection to the decision, the Ankara 5th Criminal Court of Peace accepted the objection and finalized the decision to impose an access ban. With the finalization of the decision to block access to Ekşi… »
The Advertisement Board’s Expanded Power: Blocking Access
The sanctions that the Advertisement Board has traditionally applied are the levying of administrative fines, correction decisions and precautionary or temporary suspension decisions against advertisements which violate the legal rules for advertisements broadcasted in any media including those found on the internet. In addition to these, the Advertisement Board has now been authorized to block access to online broadcasts or contents which are found to violate advertising… »
Regulations on Consumer Reviews and Complaints
Specific rules for consumer reviews and publishing consumer complaints were introduced into Turkish law by amendments to the Advertising Regulation effective as of March 2022. The amendments establish fundamental principles regarding consumer reviews. Some of them are as follows: Consumer reviews may be published by only those who have purchased the relevant product or service. Consumers should be informed of the principles for publishing consumer reviews either directly on… »
News and Events
Güldeniz Doğan Alkan Is Talking About the Supervisory Power of the Turkish Court of Cassation, with a Special Focus on IP Matters
After the entry into force of the ternary judiciary system, the role of the Turkish Court of Cassation should be to act as a court of precedents and have an examination limited to legitimacy. In our video Güldeniz Doğan Alkan is talking about the supervisory power of the Turkish Court of Cassation, with a special focus on IP matters. Further details are available in our thought leadership paper.…
Webinar: World IP Day - Conversation on Significant Role of IP on SMEs' Growth: The Story of WeWALK
Güldeniz Doğan Alkan from Gün + Partners and Kürşat Ceylan from WeWalk discussed the significant role of IP on SMEs’ growth: the story of WeWalk. https://youtu.be/n9IKxDlT3CY
Turkey Legal Update October edition published
"The October edition of Gün + Partners Turkey Legal Update, which aims to brief our community and clients about legal developments in Turkey, is launching today. This month we provide legal updates on arbitration with Turkish parties based on contracts that are not written in Turkish, penalty clauses in fixed term employment contracts, Courts of Appeal’s recent decision on determination of non-infringement actions regarding patent rights, and recent decision on having…
Mehmet Gün spoke about managing the dispute at GC Summit Turkey
Mehmet Gün, our founding partner moderated the panel on "Managing the dispute" at GC Summit Turkey by The Legal 500 (Legalease). Emre Derman, Board member of Akbank and Turcas and Andrew Savage, Partner of McDermott Will & Emery accompanied him on the panel.
Barış Kalaycı Spoke at the Transparency International Turkey Meeting
Barış Kalaycı, partner in our anti-counterfeiting practice, spoke on trademark crimes and money laundering at the Combatting Illicit Trade and Informal Economy Report Launch Meeting by Transparency International Turkey.
Özge Atılgan Karakulak, Was the Trainer of “Patent Litigation Workshop in Turkey” at IP Camp 2022
Özge Atılgan Karakulak, partner in our patent and utility models practice, was the trainer of “Patent Litigation Workshop in Turkey” at IP Camp 2022. IP.CAMP is the leading training event in the field of Intellectual Property Management and Licensing that is organized by LES-Turkey since 2014. With increasing attention to strategic patent portfolio management, IP.CAMP 2022 is intended to focus on comprehensive cases as follows: Program
Euromoney's Benchmark Litigation 2022 Rankings Announced
We are proud to be listed as top tier firm and our founding partner Mehmet Gün is recognized as the litigation star of 2022 in Turkey by Euromoney's Benchmark Litigation. Benchmark Litigation recognises the most distinguished law firms and lawyers for their dispute resolution work over the past 12 months. https://benchmarklitigation.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Benchmark-Litigation-Europe-2022-law-firm-and-lawyer-rankings-are-now-live/Index/7676
Webinar: The Importance of Judicial Training in Protecting The Rule of Law
On 6 July 2022 Better Justice Association (BJA) hosted a webinar on "The importance of judicial training in protecting the rule of law". Mehmet Gun, founder of BJA and Gün + Partners, was joined by leading scholars in this field from Cambridge University and Oxford Brookes University to discuss the training and development of judges, compare different approaches from around the world and consider the role of judicial training in protecting the rule of law.
Güldeniz Doğan Alkan ve Zeynep Çağla Üstün Patent Vekilliği Genel Yeterlik Sınavları 2. grup eğitimi verdi
"Fikri Mülkiyet çalışma alanı ortak avukatımız Güldeniz Doğan Alkan ve avukatımız Zeynep Çağla Üstün, Patent ve Marka Vekilleri Derneği (PEM) tarafından düzenlenen ""Patent Vekilliği Sınav Öncesi Ankara 2. Grup Eğitimi""nde sınavın “hukuk” bölümüne ilişkin konuları anlattılar. Patent Vekilliği ve Marka Vekilliği Genel Yeterlik Sınavları 16 Kasım, Cumartesi günü yapılacaktır. Sınava girecek adaylara başarılar dileriz."
We Defined Our Vision for the Next 10 Years by Mutual Agreement of All Our Colleagues and Employees
We are delighted to have achieved the goal that we envisaged in 2013. Since then, both Turkey and the world have undergone great changes. Despite the challenges that we have faced, we have grown and prospered. Thanks to our institutional structure, management systems, business methods and processes, as well as our inhouse technology, GÜNCE, we are successfully overcoming the difficulties brought by the pandemic. For everybody, it is now time to redefine the future…
Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş and Hande Hançar Spoke at TÜSİAD SD² Webinar
Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş and Hande Hançar, partners of our TMT practice spoke at the "Legal Issues to be Considered in Cooperation of Technology User & Technology Supplier" webinar organized by TÜSİAD SD². TÜSİAD SD2, an initiative of Turkish Industry and Business Association, is the first comprehensive program in Turkey, created with the theme of “Digital Transformation in Industry” and bringing technology users and technology suppliers together. Gün + Partners is the…
We Are Registered for INTA's 2022 Annual Meeting Live+
Our firm will be represented by our partners Barış Kalaycı, Hande Hançar, Uğur Aktekin, Zeynep Seda Alhas and Director Pinar Arikan at the INTA's 2022 Annual Meeting Live+ in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Please contact gun@gun.av.tr if you wish to meet with them. https://www.inta.org/events/2022-annual-meeting/