Insights
Developments in the Obligation of Registration to Data Controllers’ Registry
In accordance with Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (the “DPL”) and the Regulation on Data Controllers’ Registry (“Regulation”), data controllers shall get registered to the Data Controllers’ Registry (“VERBIS”). In terms of the private sector, periods regarding the registration obligation has expired as of 31.12.2021 for (i) data controllers located outside of Turkey, (ii) data controllers having more than 50 employees annually or an annual balance sheet with a value… »
State Council’s Decision on the Rules and Procedures Regarding Experts at Insurance Arbitration Commission
Article 16(12) of the Regulation on Insurance Arbitration ("the Regulation") stipulates that arbitrators can decide to get the opinion and vote of an expert upon the request of one of the parties or ex-officio, if the case requires special or technical knowledge which falls outside of legal expertise. Board of Directors of the Insurance Arbitration Commission issues a list of experts for the arbitrators to apply each year as per the rules set out by the Turkish Insurance and… »
Authorization Obligation is on the Horizon for OTT Services
The law, known as the 'disinformation law,' entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette on October 18, 2022. The new period for all OTT service providers, which provide interpersonal electronic communications services within the scope of audio, visual, written communications provided to the end users or subscribers having internet access, independently from the operators and internet services, through a publicly available software, has started on October… »
Court of Cassation Puts an End to Long-Running Sheraton Dispute
Background In 2015 the Turkish Court of Cassation (CoC) found that the trademark SOYIÇ HOTEL and device (depicted below on the left) was confusingly similar to Sheraton’s well-known device mark (depicted below on the right), so that there was likelihood of confusion (decision of the 11th Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 9 March 2015, merit number 2014/ 18262, decision number 2015/ 3101). The CoC also held that Sheraton’s device trademark is well known in its… »
Debate on well-known Trademark Registry Expected to be Resolved Soon
The PTO is determined to maintain its well-known trademark registry, even though the Court of Cassation held that it has no authority to do so Rights owners may continue to file applications for the recognition and recordation of their trademarks as well knownbefore the PTO New regulation is expected to give the PTO explicit authority to keep the well-known trademark registry Background In 2020 the Court of Cassation concluded that the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) had… »
Decision on Pricing of Human Medicinal Products Amended
The Presidency published a Decision (Turkish language) numbered 6207 amending the Decision on Pricing of Human Medicinal Products (Decision) in the Official Gazette numbered 31928 and dated 12 October 2022. The Decision amends the provision regarding profit rates and determined higher brackets for the calculation of pharmacist profit which is derived from the wholesaler price. The new brackets are as follows: The pharmacist profit is 28% of the wholesaler price when the… »
Patent and Trademark Office Rejects Applications Based on Interdependence Principle
The ‘interdependence principle’ was clearly established by the CJEU in Canon In two recent cases, the Patent and Trademark Office explicitly mentioned and set out the conditions for the application of the interdependence principle In one of the cases, the Office also found that an application including the dominant element ‘camelbak’ could not have been filed in good faith The Interdependence Principle For an application to be rejected under Article 6/1 of the Turkish… »
A First for Turkey as Court Decides Preliminary Injunctions Can Apply to NFTs
Despite legal uncertainties, court decisions in various jurisdictions have grasped with the issues of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital tokens that cannot be exchanged or replaced and may represent a tangible object in the real world. For the first time, a court in Turkey rendered a preliminary injunction (PI) regarding NFTs on June 21, 2022. In the dispute filed before the Istanbul Third Civil Intellectual Property Court (court), heirs of Cem Karaca, who was an artist… »
New Reimbursement Regulation Published
On 25 August 2022, the Social Security Institution Reimbursement Regulation (Turkish language) was published in the Official Gazette numbered 31934. The regulation has replaced the previous Social Security Institution Reimbursement Regulation from 2016. The most important amendments are made on the Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Commission's (PRC) working procedures. The regulation includes new definitions for therapeutic reference (TR) group, biosimilar medicinal product… »
Why Compulsory Licensing is a Blunt Instrument in the Post-Covid Landscape
Earlier this year the Turkish minister of health announced that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made a compulsory licence decision about the active ingredient molnupiravir. In line with the fact that the decision was made directly by the president, it was understood that the provision of a compulsory licence due to public interest was applied. However, the patent owner was not notified of the presidential decision nor was it publicly accessible, so the terms, the licensee… »
Business Card Misuse Considered Grounds For Termination in Court Ruling
Introduction It is common practice for companies to provide business credit cards to certain employees who have managerial responsibilities and/or make frequent payments on behalf of the company in scope of their duties. It is also common for these companies to encounter situations where employees will use business credit cards for personal expenses either intentionally or by mistake. In cases where the employers suspect that an employee has used their business credit card… »
Advertisement Containing Blurred Images of Rivals’ Products is Banned
The Advertisement Board rendered an important decision regarding comparative advertising practice on August 9, 2022. The decision pertains to the advertisement published in the catalogue offered to consumers monthly by a globally-known cosmetics and fragrance company which compared two of its fragrances with the products of two world-famous fragrance brands. The advertisement published in the catalogue of the advertiser regarding its products contains the expressions of “It… »
News and Events
Özge Atılgan Karakulak Listed in Top 250 Women in IP 2020
Özge Atılgan Karakulak, partner in our life sciences and patent and utility models practices, is listed in Top 250 Women in IP 2020 by Euromoney's Managing IP. The publication recognises 250 senior female IP practitioners in private practice who have performed exceptionally for their clients and firms in the past year.
World Trademark Review 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2020 Rankings Announced
We are pleased to announce that we have been named as the top tier firm and our 8 practitioners are recognized as the leading individuals in the World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2020. WTR 1000 focuses exclusively on trademark practices and practitioners, has established itself as the definitive ‘go-to’ resource for those seeking world-class legal trademark expertise.
Webinar: Coronavirüs’ün İşletmelere Hukuki Etkileri
COVID-19’un etkisi artmaya devam ediyor ve benzeri görülmemiş bu durumla karşı karşıyayız. Bu süreçte, şirketlerin ivedilikle doğru kararlar vermesi ve uygulaması gerekiyor. Bu amaçla, şirketlere hukuki açıdan yol gösterecek görüş ve önerilerimizi “Coronavirüs’ün İşletmelere Hukuki Etkileri” webinarında paylaşıyoruz. Moderatör : Mehmet Gün Konuşmacılar : Pelin Baysal, Filiz Toprak Esin, Beril Yayla Sapan İş hayatını dünyada ve Türkiye’de nasıl etkiliyor? Coronavirüs…
Webinar: Trademark Protection in Europe During COVID-19 – Asia-Pacific Session
COVID-19 pandemic spread all around Europe by March 2020 and has been effecting also trademarks and trademark protection in practice. Gün + Partners hosted this webinar for the second time at a more convenient hour for representatives of brand owners and practitioners within Asia-Pacific region. The webinar provided a unique opportunity to learn about the impacts of COVID-19 to the practice of trademark law before trademark offices and courts in various European…
Gün + Partners recognized as Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year in Turkey 2020 by Euromoney
We are proud to be recognised as “Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year in Turkey” by Euromoney's Benchmark Litigation Europe Award 2020. Benchmark Litigation recognises the most distinguished law firms for their dispute resolution work over the past 12 months. https://www.benchmarklitigation.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Benchmark-Litigation-2020-Europe-Awards-Winners-Announced/Index/5704
Intercontinental Finance & Law Magazine
Mehmet Gün gave an interview to InterContinental Finance & Law Magazine about our firm and his role in the firm as the founder. Click here to read the inverview.
World Intellectual Property Day
very April 26, World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated worldwide to learn about the role that intellectual property (IP) rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity. Within this scope; we have set the theme for our 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 will be opened with a speech of Professor Rana Sanyal…
Who's Who Legal Listings
Congratulations to our lawyers recognized by WWL, they have listed among the best lawyers in their expertise. Moreover, we are proud to have the most number of lawyers listed in WWL from Turkey.WWL has built a reputation as one of the most trusted resources for in-house counsel, government, agency and other legal practitioners seeking to find a high-quality lawyer in a particular practice area or jurisdiction. #WWL https://whoswholegal.com/firms/gun--partners?tab=lawyers
COVID-19 Update from Gün + Partners
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Health Ministry of Turkey announced the total number of cases in the country is 18 as of March 16, 2020. COVID-19 spread progress shows that local peak of the epidemic would happen in forthcoming days in Turkey. Our priority is to continue to provide the high quality client service, while protecting the health and safety of our people and their families. Following are our decisions and…
IP2017 Conference
This event has passed. Hande Hançar Çelik, partner and co-chair of our TMT practice, will speak about success story of GlakoLens, developer of contact lens based biosensor technologies, at IP2017 organizing by Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey from Oct 12-13, 2017. Date: Thursday, 12 October 2017 - Friday, 13 October 2017 Venue: Bogazici University, Albert Long Hall Bebek Mh., 34342 Beşiktaş/Istanbul, Turkey IP2017 Conference
MIP International Patent Forum 2018
This event has passed. Özge Atılgan Karakulak and Selin Sinem Erciyas spoke on preliminary injunctions in Turkey in the MIP International Patent Forum 2018. Date: Wednesday, 07 March 2018 - Thursday, 08 March 2018 Venue: The Waldorf Hilton Hotel Aldwych, London, WC2B 4DD, United Kingdom MIP International Patent Forum 2018
6th Annual IBA World Life Sciences Conference
This event has passed. This year’s event will feature dynamic roundtable session as well as concurrent sessions covering the hottest topics and the latest developments from across the different sectors of the Life Science Industry.Topics Include: • Recent trends and future of life sciences• State of the art in all aspects of life sciences• Life science is not science fiction; the future of life science is now• The complex net of human activities, relationships and…