Insights
The First of its Kind: Compensation for Damages Caused by Unfair Preliminary Injunction Decisions in the Pharmaceutical Industry
One must have deep knowledge and experience in many different disciplines to play a role in the solution of complex and multi-layered patent law disputes. One of the most important examples of this situation are compensation actions filed following the abolition of preliminary injunctions in patent disputes related to the pharmaceutical industry. As a matter of fact, the decisions of the courts of first instance and the Court of Appeal in these types of cases give direction… »
Insurance Disputes Comparative Guide
What mechanism do insurance policies usually provide for resolution of coverage disputes? State Courts In Turkish insurance policies, the usual dispute resolution mechanism provided for resolution of coverage disputes is litigation before state courts. As a rule, insurance disputes are resolved before commercial courts. However, insurance disputes regarding maritime law are resolved before specialized courts of maritime and insurances disputes where the insured is a consumer… »
Advertisement Board: Use of Competitors' Trademarks as Keywords Leads to Unfair Competition
Google Adwords / Google Ads, a type of commercial advertising that has emerged as a result of technological developments, allows advertisers to select keywords related to the product or service they offer and to help determine when and where the ad can be displayed. In this context, Google does not automatically prevent the advertiser from using trademarks or commercial names belonging to competitors in their advertisements. In Google Adwords ads, whoever pays the highest… »
Latest Developments on Administrative Revocation of Trademarks!
While the relevant article regulating the transfer of authority to examine the requests for revocation of trademarks to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“the Office”) was not yet entered into force and there were still a level of uncertainty concerning the procedure, the first development in this regard took place on October 23, 2023 when the Office published and opened the “Draft Regulation for Amendment of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial… »
The Draft Regulation About Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Data, Turkish Standard Contractual Terms and Binding Corporate Rules Guidelines
Within the framework of the amendments to the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (the “Law”), which will come into force on 1 June 2024, the draft regulation on cross-border data transfer was being expected and has now published by the Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (the “DPA”) for commentary from public in general. For consideration of data controllers and data processors, major issues set forth under the draft regulation are as follows: Cross-Border Transfers… »
Update on Legal Interest, Late Payment Fee and Deferment Interest Rates
Legal Interest Rate According to Article 1 of the Law No. 3095 on Legal Interest and Default Interest (“Law No. 3095”), interests to be paid as per Turkish Code of Obligations and Turkish Commercial Code, shall be made at an annual rate of 12%, unless a different contractual rate is agreed. The president is authorized to adjust this rate on a monthly basis, and to reduce it by up to 10% or increase it up to one time. The legal interest rate was 9% since January 1, 2006… »
Constitutional Court Annulled the Sanction for Non-Attendance to Mandatory Mediation
Article 18/A of the Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes ("Mediation Law") stipulates that, should the mediation process end due to one of the party’s failure to attend the first meeting without a valid excuse, that party shall be liable for all litigation costs, regardless of whether they partially or fully succeed in the subsequent lawsuit. In addition to that, no attorney fee shall be awarded to such party. The Constitutional Court recently examined… »
How Turkey Tackles Trademark Applications Infringing Upon Copyrighted Works
We love iconic movies, animated TV series, comics, cartoons, and platform games, and enjoy making them a part of our daily life, perhaps by drinking a cup of coffee with a mug bearing a Hogwarts logo or wearing pyjamas featuring Mickey Mouse. They are not just fictional works but also symbols with a cultural effect and commercial value. This often leads to unauthorised use of the titles and characters of these copyrighted works and any other associated signs, both at a… »
PTO Issues Exemplary Decision Clarifying Concept of ‘Bad Faith’
The PTO has refused an application for MA MONDE FRESHEN UP & SHINE following an opposition by a foreign cosmetics company The fact that the applicant sought to register a sign identical to the opponent’s trademark could not be a mere coincidence The Trademarks Department also considered the opponent’s trademark registrations and usage abroad, as well as the applicant’s bad faith The Trademarks Department has found that the application for MA MONDE FRESHEN UP &… »
Recent Changes Regarding the Determination of Companies Subject to Independent Auditing
The Decision Amending the Decision on Determination of Companies Subject to Independent Auditing ("Amendment Decision") was published in the Official Gazette dated April 6, 2024. The Amendment Decision provides significant changes to the independent auditing thresholds compared to the Decision on Determination of Companies Subject to Independent Auditing, which was put into effect by Presidential Decree No. 6434 and applied until January 1, 2024 ("Decision"). Accordingly… »
European Union Artificial Intelligence Act Approved: What Does It Entail in Terms of Copyrights?
*The Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) Act was approved by the members of the European Parliament on March 13, 2024. Although the AI Act does not include a direct regulation in regard to copyrights, it is seen that the obligations imposed on AI providers in Article 53 are intended to prevent copyright infringements. Generative AI models such as ChatGPT, BERT, LaMDA, DALL-E2, which enable the creation of original content by processing data such as text, image and sound, are now… »
Ban on Foreign Currency Payment in Certain Sale of Goods Contracts Lifted
With the amendment made to the Communiqué on the Decree numbered 32 Regarding the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency (the "Communiqué"), effective as of April 21, 2022, for buyers residing in Türkiye, except for vehicle sale contracts, in the event that there is an agreement in the sale of goods contracts that all payments under the contract are to be made in foreign currency or indexed to foreign currency, it was regulated that these obligations must be… »
News and Events
We are attending IBA Annual Conference in Rome
Our partners Özge Atılgan Karakulak, vice chair of IBA IP and Entertainment Law Committee, and Pelin Baysal, former secretary of IBA Insurance Committee will be attending the IBA Annual Conference 2018 in Rome from 7th to 12th of Oct 2018. Please contact gun@gun.av.tr if you wish to meet with them. https://www.ibanet.org/Conferences/Rome2018.aspx
Mehmet Gün comments in the Financial Times
Mehmet Gün, our founding partner, comments in the Financial Times on the latest decree on prohibition of Turkey residents’ FX contracts. https://lnkd.in/gW8Shxk
Hande Hançar moderated the “Turkish patent law and employee inventions” workshop at IP.CAMP 2018
Hande Hançar Çelik, partner in our Intellectual Property practice, led the workshop on “Turkish patent law and employee inventions” during IP.CAMP 2018 - Patents for Business Intelligence in Izmir on Sep 13, 2018. https://lnkd.in/gJqUcPT
We have hosted Biolegis Meeting in İstanbul
We have hosted Biolegis Meeting 2018 in Istanbul on 13-14 Sep 2018 with the attendance of @Biolegis member law firms and corporate counsels of life science companies. Our lawyers @Ozan Karaduman and @Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş with @Funda Ekincioğlu from @MSD Turkey shared their experiences on processing personal health data in life science under the #GDPR and Turkish Law on Protection of Personal Data”. Biolegis is a pan-European network of law firms with in-depth expertise…
Hande Hançer to be moderator at IP.Camp
Hande Hançar Çelik, partner in our intellectual property practice, will lead the workshop on “Turkish patent law and employee inventions” during IP.CAMP 2018 - Patents for Business Intelligence in Izmir on Sep 14, 2018. https://www.ipcamp.org #IPCAMP2018 #Sabanciuniversitesi
ISTA Conference
Mehmet Gün, our founding partner and chairperson of İstanbul Arbitration Association (ISTA), made the opening speech and Pelin Baysal, co-chair of our Dispute Resolution practice, shared her thoughts on cultural gaps in international arbitration with a special focus on document production at ISTA Ethics Rules for Arbitrators Ethics, Latest Developments and Innovation in Arbitration Conference on Nov 16, 2018 in İstanbul. https://ista.org.tr/en/blog/istaconference2018program
ISTA Konferansı
Kurucu Ortağımız Av. Mehmet Gün’ün kurulmasına öncülük ettiği İSTA – Istanbul Tahkim Derneği, Hakem Etik Kuralları’nı tüm dünyaya duyurmak ve tahkim etiğinin duayenleri ile tartışmak amacıyla 16 Kasım 2018 tarihinde uluslararası bir konferans düzenlemiş bulunmaktadır. Konferansta tahkimde inovasyon, güncel gelişmeler ve İstanbul’un bir ticaret ve uyuşmazlık çözüm merkezi olarak yeri konularında sunumlar yer alacaktır.…
FICPI-TÜRKİYE seminar held with Istanbul Bilgi University
"FICPI-TÜRKİYE seminar on ""Significant Innovations on Trademark and Patent Prosecution Processes with the IP Code No. 6769 and Current Practice"" held in conjunction with Istanbul Bilgi University in Istanbul on Oct 26, 2018. Ugur Aktekin, our partner and president of the FICPI-TÜRKİYE, made the opening speech of the seminar. https://lnkd.in/g5XD8Qg"
We have been shortlisted in the Excellence in International Legal Services category by The Law Society 2018 Excellence Awards.
"We are pleased to be shortlisted in the Excellence in International Legal Services category by The Law Society 2018 Excellence Awards. http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/events/excellence-awards/shortlist/ "
Aysel Kokmaz Yatkın spoke about about employee inventions.
Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, managing associate in our Patents and Utility Models practice, spoke about employee inventions as a keynote speaker at the Model Court of Justice 2019 in Ankara on Feb 10, 2019.
Talat Yörük shared his experience on customs procedures of counterfeit products
"China, Hong Kong and Turkey are the top provenances of fake goods according to OECD - OCDE Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods 2016 report. Turkish Statistical Institute also reports China is the largest exporter to Turkey for the goods excepting petroleum and natural gas in 2018. Talat Yörük, senior associate of our Anti-Counterfeiting practice area, presented the legal status and customs procedures of counterfeit products during the Seminar for Identification of…
We have been selected as the “Patent Firm of the Year” in Turkey by Global IP Awards
We are delighted to have been selected as the “Patent Firm of the Year” in Turkey by Global IP Awards, which recognise law and attorney firm excellence in the field of litigation, prosecution and transactional patent work during 2018. https://cms.ipplatform.globebmg.io/sites/default/files/2019-01/Global%20IP%20Awards%20Winners.pdf