Insights
Riddle of Applicable Application Fee in Enforcing Foreign Judgments
Under Turkish law, the rules governing the collection of trial fees are regulated by the Law of Fees No. 492 (Law no. 492) and the applicable fees are under Tariff 1 of the Law no. 492. Article 4 of Law no. 492 also explicitly refers to Tariff 1 in terms of the fees applicable in the actions for enforcement of foreign judgments stating that the applicable fee will be determined according to the value, type and nature of the verdict. The general rule under Tariff 1 is when the… »
Advertisement Board is Again Able to Block Access
Turkish Constitutional Court (“Court”) annulled the paragraph 12 of Article 77 of the Consumer Protection Law, which granted the Advertisement Board (“Board”) the power to partially or entirely block access to websites containing unlawful advertising content. The relevant rule was considered to be unconstitutional pursuant to the Court’s decision dated 13 September 2023 and numbered 2022/70 E. - 2023/152 K. which was published on the Official Gazette dated 27 October 2023 and… »
Turkish Court of Cassation Issues Landmark Ruling on “cancellation” of WIPOpanel Decisions
In a case involving a registrant whose domain name was transferred to a complainant by a WIPO panel at the end of UDRPproceedings, the Turkish Court of Cassation has clarified that it is not possible to request “cancellation” of WIPO panel decisionsrendered pursuant to the UDRP. Background The plaintiff (registrant in the UDRP proceedings) registered the gTLD ‘donerstop.com’ on 6 June 2014. The defendant (complainantin the UDRP proceedings) applied to register the trademark… »
Court of Cassation Expands on Similarity Assessment for Short, Number Marks
The 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (CoC) has ruled that there is a likelihood of confusion between the trademarks N11 and OTEL 11 (15 February 2024, 2023/3633 E (Merits), 2024/1117 K). Background The applicant filed a trademark application for OTEL 11 in Class 43. The opponent, one of the largest online shopping websites in Türkiye, requested refusal of the application on the following basis: OTEL 11 created a likelihood of confusion with its earlier… »
Guideline on Circumstances Requiring Reissue of a Marketing Authorization For a Licensed Pharmaceutical
The transfer of pharmaceutical marketing authorizations (“MA”) entails intricate and interconnected procedures. Especially when it comes to imported pharmaceuticals, comprehensive contracts control the process when the foreign licensor company gives a license to a distributor in Türkiye and the products are offered for sale in the Turkish market. Before the MA transfer application is submitted to the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (“Agency”), the license… »
Court of Cassation Decision Shows Importance of Trademark Use to Enjoy Protection Based on ‘Vested Rights’ Principle
In its decision dated 13 February 2024 (No 2022/4962 E (Merits), No 2024/1005 K (Decision)), the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation has upheld a Regional Court of Appeal decision confirming a ruling of the Court of First Instance that rejected the plaintiff’s vested rights claims. Background On 11 January 2018 an application was filed for registration of the trademark MONTENT in Classes 35, 38 and 41 by the applicant, who also owned a prior registration for MONTENT… »
Turkish Legislation Offers Various Solutions to Tackle Trademark Squatting
Similar as in other countries, trademark squatting is also a common problem which foreign brands face in Türkiye. Trademark squatting creates challenges for market entry and registration of trademarks for foreign companies, as well as leading to dilution of the original trademark. Although there are steps to be taken to better prevent squatters, the current intellectual property (IP) legislation still has effective tools to protect the rights of foreign trademark owners and… »
Turkish PTO Continues to Protect Copyright Holders Against Infringing Trade Mark Applications in Its New Decision
The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has a broad approach and well-established praxis regarding the protection of copyright holders’ rights on fictional works when characters, titles, and associated signs are used in third-party trademark applications. In its recent decision issued in April, the PTO accepted Paramount Pictures’ opposition filed against the trademark application “Don Carpetto”, as shown below, and rejected the registration of the contested application… »
Recent Changes in the Turkish Commercial Code
With the Law no. 7511 Amending the Turkish Commercial Code and Certain other Laws (the “Amendment Law”), which entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette dated 29.05.2024 numbered 32560, amendments are made primarily to the Turkish Commercial Code numbered 6102 (the “TCC”) and other certain laws. We present below the important amendments introduced by the Amendment Law within the scope of the TCC in order to provide convenience to corporate transactions… »
Guidelines on Packaging Information and Instructions for Use of Pharmaceuticals have been Updated
On June 11, 2024, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (“Agency”) announced on its official website that the “Guideline on the Packaging Information and Instructions for Use of Medicinal Products for Human Use”, “Guideline on the Readability of the Packaging Information and Instructions for Use of Medicinal Products for Human Use” and “Guideline on Excipients in the Packaging Information and Instructions for Use of Medicinal Products for Human Use” have all been… »
Corporate Governance and Directors' Duties in Turkey 2024
1. What are the main forms of corporate entity used? The main forms of corporate entity used in Turkey are the: • Limited liability company (LLC). • Joint-stock company (JSC). The LLC and the JSC are the preferred company forms in Turkey for both foreign national and Turkish entrepreneurs. The minimum capital requirement were recently increased and from 1 January 2024, the minimum capital amount for: • An LLC is TRY50,000. • A JSC is TRY250,000. • A non-public joint stock… »
The Current Approach Regarding the Determination of the Termination Type in Reinstatement Actions
In disputes arising from the termination of the employment agreement by the employer, although the issue of whether the employment agreement is terminated with just cause or valid reason does not have an impact in terms of the evaluation of the reinstatement request, it is crucial in terms of requesting employment claims. Yet, when the employment agreement is terminated with a valid reason or just cause, the reinstatement request shall be rejected in both cases, whereas the… »
News and Events
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 Talking About the Assignment of Copyrights Procedure Under Turkish Law
Turkish copyright system follows the classical author’s rights doctrine, therefore based on very conservative principles which are difficult to maintain in a world of rapid and unpredictable technological developments. In our video, Hande Hançar is talking about the assignment of copyrights procedure under Turkish Law. Further details are available in our thought leadership paper.…
Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and Havva Yıldız Spoke on “Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT)" at İstanbul Bilgi University
Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and Havva Yıldız spoke on NFT and its relation to copyrights at the Data-Based Economics Lab of Istanbul Bilgi University.
Uğur Aktekin Will Moderate a Table Topic at INTA 2021 Annual Meeting
Uğur Aktekin, co-chair of our intellectual property practice, will be the moderator of the Table Topic: "Leveraging Copyrights in Your Brand Protection Strategy" at INTA 2021 Annual Meeting Virtual+ on 17 November 2021, 08:00 am-09:00 am EST. https://www.inta.org/2021-annual-meeting-virtual/table-topics/
Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın Will Speak at Mondaq Webinar on Patent Enforcement in Europe
Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, partner in our patent and utility models practice, will be one of the speakers at Mondaq "Learn from the Expert: Patent Enforcement in Europe" webinar delivered by MLL, Freshfields and other leading European firms on 18 November 2021 at 4:00 PM UTC. https://bit.ly/3Fe2jHO
We Had Information Security Training
In the light of ISO 27001 we had information security, risks and precautions training.
Announcement of 2021 Partner Promotions
We are pleased to announce the continued growth of our firm with the promotion of Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş, Beril Yayla Sapan and Görkem Bilgin to partner in our corporate and commercial practice areas taking effect from 1 October 2021. https://gun.av.tr/people
Dicle Doğan Has Been Awarded as Rising Star by Euromoney Legal Media Group's "Rising Stars EMEA Awards 2021"
Dicle Doğan, managing associate in our life sciences practice, has been awarded as rising star in Turkey by Euromoney Legal Media Group's "Rising Stars EMEA Awards 2021" which aims to recognise the outstanding work being done by the region’s emerging leaders. https://www.iflr.com/article/b1thybzf1ql0nz/rising-stars-awards-emea-2021-winners-announced
Uğur Aktekin Will Speak at FICPI Virtual 20th Open Forum
Uğur Aktekin, partner in our trademarks and designs practice, will be a panellist of "Trade mark joint custody: Tips and trends for co-branding" panel at FICPI Virtual 20th Open Forum on 3-5 November 2021. https://ficpi.org/events/virtualevent/2021-ficpi-20th-virtual-open-forum
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.
Özge Atılgan Karakulak Moderated a Panel at IBA - Virtual Fever the New Pandemic Conference
Özge Atılgan Karakulak, co-chair of IBA - IP and Entertainment Law Committee, was the co-moderator of the "Have patents cured Covid-19?" panel at IBA - Virtual Fever the New Pandemic Conference in Berlin, Germany. https://www.ibanet.org/session-details/se_85026
We Conducted Another Round of Raids on Infringers in Istanbul
We are proud the announce that we conducted yet another round of simultaneous raids at the warehouses and production sites of several infringers in Istanbul last week, enabling us to seize over two hundred thousand pieces of textiles, leather goods and accessories. This joint operation started with detailed investigations of our in-house investigation team and could be concluded thanks to excellent support of law enforcement officers on behalf of many clients.