Insights
Overview of Turkish IP Protection: Navigating Challenges
Turkish IP legislation is mostly in compliance with EU legislation. With the adoption of IP Code No. 6769 back in 2017, it is fair to say that legislation regarding trademarks, designs and patents is in line with international norms and standards. While the legal framework provides a solid foundation for IP rights protection, practical obstacles persist, revealing the need for further improvements. A significant challenge has been the limited specialized knowledge among… »
Sanal Moda
Turkey's Position on Non-Fungible Tokens
Introduction On 20 September 2017, the term “NFT” (non-fungible token) was officially coined by Dapper Labs Chief Technology Officer Dete Shirley in the form of the ERC-721 standard. NFTs boomed in 2021 and have remained relevant since. Despite the drops observed in their market volume in 2023, NFTs are still in the spotlight as numerous global brands are continuing to launch NFT collections and many trademark applications with coverage including NFTs are being filed all… »
Obligation to Open and Register a Website
Pursuant to Article 1524 of the Turkish Commercial Code (the "TCC"), joint stock and limited liability companies that are subject to independent audit (for detailed information on which companies are subject to independent audit please click here to access our article on the subject) are required to open a website within 3 months following the date of their incorporations in the trade registry or the date of entry into force of this obligation, and to devote a certain portion… »
Current Discussions for Processing of Personal Data in Insurance Sector
The Law on Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 (the “DPL”) has entered into force on April 7, 2016 in Turkiye to (i) protect the fundamental rights and freedoms, particularly the protection of private life, in processing of personal data and (ii) regulate the obligations and principles and procedures to be followed by real and legal persons processing personal data. The DPL is applicable to all real persons whose personal data are processed as well as real and legal entities… »
Developments Regarding the Renting of Residential Places for Tourism Purposes
The Law No. 7464 on the Renting of Residential Places for Tourism Purposes and Amendments to Certain Laws (the "Law") was published in the Official Gazette on November 2, 2023. The Law regulates in detail the conditions for renting residential places up to 100 days and the obligations of those who rent their premises for short terms for tourism purposes. The relevant provisions of the Law will come into force on January 1, 2024. Considering that short-term rental activities… »
Eco-Friendly Advertisements!
When you watch the commercials, do you often feel like advertising companies are working hard to convince you that their products or services are “eco”, “environmentally friendly”, “nature friendly”, “green” and “recyclable”? Does environmentally-friendly feature of a product have any impact on your preference to purchase or use it? In fact, are we yet at the end of an era of advertising products that are not “green” enough but promoted to be “green”? The “green advertising”… »
Conditions for Pharmaceutical Exporters Other than Pharmaceutical Warehouses is Published
On 29 December 2023, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (“Agency”) has published Guidelines on the Conditions for Pharmaceutical Export Made by Companies Other than Pharmaceutical Warehouses (the “Guidelines”). The Guidelines has been prepared in order to ensure the shipment and export of pharmaceutical products and dietary foods for special medical purpose in compliance with national and international standards, while protecting public health. The Guidelines… »
What Copyright and Trademark Owners Should Know About the Approach to NFTs in the Republic of Türkiye
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have grown in popularity since first entering public consciousness in 2021. They are digital tokens and may represent unique—virtual or real-world—items including songs, artworks, GIFs, virtual game items, videos, and cartoons. NFTs are created using blockchain technology and primarily operate within Ethereum, a blockchain platform with automated (smart) transactions. NTFs cannot be exchanged or replaced. The NFT is technically not the asset… »
Advertisement Board Issued New Principles for Preventing Misleading Loyalty Programs
The Advertisement Board ("Board") amended the "Guideline on Advertisements Containing Price Information, Discount Sale Advertisements and Commercial Practices" ("Guideline") in its meeting dated 09.01.2024 and numbered 341, introduced new principles for loyalty programs. Loyalty programs are generally defined as practices that allow consumers to collect points towards future purchases. The Board has observed that loyalty programs have recently turned into a discount sales… »
Guidelines on Medical Device Meetings Has Been Updated
On 4 January 2024, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (“Agency”) announced on its official website that the Guidelines on Scientific Meetings and Educational Events to be Held within the Scope of the Regulation on the Sales, Advertisement and Promotion of Medical Devices (“Guidelines”) has been updated. Within the scope of the update, only in the third paragraph of Article 9 of the Guidelines, which came into force on 04 January 2024, the following issues have… »
Alternative Dispute Resolution System for Disputes Arising From ‘.tr’ Extended Domain Names in Türkiye
Overview On 14 September 2022, TRABIS (‘.tr’ Network Information System) took over the management of ‘.tr’ extended domain names with the Regulation coming into force in Türkiye. According to the Regulation, domain names can be allocated as documented or undocumented. Undocumented allocation is carried out within the framework of the ‘first come, first served’ rule. This rule is applied to domain names with the most commonly used extensions such as ‘.com.tr’, ‘.org.tr’… »
News and Events
Özge Atılgan Karakulak will make the opening speech of The Annual IBA World Life Sciences Conference 2019
"Our partner Özge Atılgan Karakulak will make the opening speech as a co-chair of The Annual IBA World Life Sciences Conference (WLSC) 2019. The Life Sciences sector is deeply evolving, with many legal challenges. The IBA WLSC gathers more and more members every year and the 2019 conference will again be the occasion to share views and knowledge, enhance initiatives and contribute to valuing our constantly evolving legal practice on the field.…
Our theme for our World Intellectual Property Day event is “Women in IP, from Creation to Protection of Rights”.
We have set the theme for our World Intellectual Property Day 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 was opened with a speech of Professor Rana Sanyal, a scientist and entrepreneur. Our lawyers and world-renowned local and foreign speakers addressed the latest developments in IP law during the panels focused on…
Özge Atılgan Karakulak made the opening speech of IBA World Life Sciences Conference 2019
Özge Atılgan Karakulak, chair of our Life Sciences practice and vice chair of the IBA Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee, co-chaired IBA 7th Annual World Life Sciences Conference, held in Philadelphia, USA. https://www.ibanet.org/Conferences/conf956.aspx
Hande Hançar, TÜRKONFED KOBİ’ler için Gümrük Birliği Projesi Açılış Etkinliği'nde konuşmacı oldu
Ortak avukatımız ve Daha İyi Yargı Derneği yönetim kurulu üyesi Hande Hançar Çelik, TÜRKONFED - Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation tarafından düzenlenen KOBİ’ler için Gümrük Birliği Projesi açılış etkinliğine panelist olarak katıldı. Türkiye'nin mevcut Gümrük Birliği anlaşmasında Avrupa Birliği ile arasındaki anlaşmazlıkları nasıl çözdüğü, dünyadan ilgili örnekleri ve anlaşmanın güncellenmesi halinde bu anlaşmazlıkların nasıl ele alınacağı hakkında görüşlerini…
Mehmet Gün, Uğur Aktekin, and Özge Karakulak have been listed in IAM Strategy 300
"Congratulations to Mehmet Gün, our founding partner, Uğur Aktekin and Özge Atılgan Karakulak, co-chairs of our Intellectual Property Practice, for being listed in IAM Strategy 300 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists. https://www.iam-media.com/search?search=g%C3%BCn+%2B+partners&order=&directories%5B%5D=4 "
Mehmet Gün gave an interview to InterContinental Finance & Law Magazine
"Mehmet Gün gave an interview to InterContinental Finance & Law Magazine about our firm and his role in the firm as founder. Click below to read the inverview: https://gun.av.tr/intercontinental-finance-law-magazine/"
Gün + Partners has been shortlisted in The Law Society 2019 Excellence Awards
We are pleased to be shortlisted in the Excellence in International Legal Services category by The Law Society 2019 Excellence Awards. The award recognises law firms with an innovative approach to the delivery of legal services in the international era.https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/events/excellence-awards/shortlist/
Hande Hançar Is Giving "IP Law" Course at TOBB University during 2022-2023 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 2022-2023 academic year Fall semester.
Gün + Partners Has Been Awarded as "Firm of the Year - Turkey" in 2021 by Who’s Who Legal
We are honoured our firm has been awarded as "Firm of the Year - Turkey” for the 5th consecutive years in 2021 by Who’s Who Legal. WWL recognises individual practitioners who received the highest number of nominations from peers, corporate counsels and other market sources, and also awards the individuals and firms that have performed exceptionally well in their research. https://whoswholegal.com/awards/2021-country-and-state-awards
IAPP Istanbul KnowledgeNet Chapter Webinar 2022
Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş, partner in our data protection and privacy practice, had a discussion on the data transfer abroad and the effects of the Schrems II decision in cross-border data transfers with Şehriban İpek Aşıkoğlu at the Virtual Istanbul KnowledgeNet Webinar by IAPP Istanbul KnowledgeNet Chapter. Please click here for more details.
We are attending the IBA Annual Conference in Seoul
Our partners Özge Atılgan Karakulak, vice chair of IBA IP and Entertainment Law Committee, Pelin Baysal, former secretary of IBA Insurance Committee, and Ozan Karaduman, will be attending the IBA Annual Conference 2019 in Seoul from 22nd to 27th of Sep 2019. Please contact gun@gun.av.tr if you wish to meet with them. https://www.ibanet.org/Conferences/Seoul-2019.aspx
Maral Büyükkürkçü and Zeynep Çağla Üstün Are Listed as Rising Star by Euromoney's MIP IP STARS 2021
Maral Büyükkürkçü and Zeynep Çağla Üstün, senior associates in our intellectual property practice, are listed among rising stars by Euromoney's MIP IP STARS 2021 which is the leading resource for who is looking for the best legal practitioners for contentious and non-contentious IP advice since 1994. https://www.ipstars.com/Firm/Gun-Partners/Profile/101593#lawyers