Insights
A Practical Overview of Disclosure of Trade Secret as a Criminal Offense
Trade secrets bear critical value for companies to stand out and become distinct from their competitors in the competitive market conditions. Indeed, companies are often exposed to significant risks arising from the disclosure of trade secrets due to misconduct of certain individuals having access to these secrets. Therefore, confidentiality of these secrets, which bear commercial value and provide a competitive advantage, is almost crucial for companies to survive. In this… »
Turkish Constitutional Court Annuls Advertisement Board’s Power to Block Access to Websites
Turkish Constitutional Court (“Court”) annulled the paragraph 12 of Article 77 of the Consumer Protection Law, which granted the Advertisement 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 numbered… »
Draft Regulation by Turkey's Competition Authority: A Step Forward in Cartel Transparency
Article 4 of Code No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition ("Code") prohibits agreements, concerted practices, and decisions that restrict competition. The Regulation on Active Cooperation for Detecting Cartels ("Existing Regulation") published in the Official Gazette dated 15.02.2009 and numbered 21142 has been in force for more than 14 years to reveal cartels, which are considered the most serious competition violations in competition law, involving agreements and/or… »
Regulatory Update in Turkey: Prolonged Exclusion of Specific Losses in Capital and Equity Assessments
The Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles Regarding Implementation of Article 376 of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 ("Implementation Communiqué") was amended on December 26, 2020, and it was regulated that certain loss items will not be considered in the calculations made in terms of capital loss or negative equity until January 1, 2023. Although the Ministry of Trade indicated in its statements on various occasions that this exception was introduced as a… »
Cyber Insurance and Insuring NFTs
With the frequent occurrence of cyber-attacks, having insurance coverage against these attacks has become increasingly crucial, and many insurance companies have started to provide cybersecurity insurance services. Like cryptocurrencies, NFTs which are digital assets with a specific value, are based on blockchain technology and stored in the blockchain. The blockchain is a database containing records that, once added, are almost impossible to change and is a digital ledger… »
New Minimum Capital Requirements in Turkey: Impact on Joint Stock and LLCs
With the Presidential Decree numbered 7887 and published in the Official Gazette dated 25 November 2023 and numbered 32380, it has been decided to increase the minimum capital amount for joint stock and limited liability companies by 5 times. According to this regulation, as of 1 January 2024, the new minimum capital amounts will be as follows: Minimum Capital Amount According to the Previous Legislation Minimum Capital Amount According to the New… »
Practical Guideline on Immediate Actions for Foreign Companies Facing Commercial Litigation in Turkey
Introduction Given the complex, competitive and contested course of commercial life, the odds are most businesses will face, at one stage or another, a commercial dispute raised by a business partner (eg, a customer, distributor or supplier etc,). Some of these disputes can be resolved peacefully and amicably, but others may escalate to the court level. The latter can be particularly difficult to manage for global companies operating in multiple states, as cross border claims… »
Is Alternative Dispute Resolution Effective Enough for “.tr” Domain Names?
This article discusses the alternative dispute resolution mechanism for ".tr" domain names in Türkiye. It highlights the efficiency of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism and addresses some concerns over the transparency of proceedings. TRABIS (".tr" Network Information System), established by the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority ("BTK"), became operational on September 14, 2022 and undertook the management of ".tr" domain names. Upon… »
Turkish Court of Cassation’s Comparison of Goods in Different Subclasses
During 2022, the 11th Civil Chamber of the Turkish Court of Cassation (the CoC) issued several decisions regarding trade marks covering goods in class 5. The CoC formed its evaluation on the likelihood of confusion by comparing the subclasses of class 5. The details of the decisions are provided below: Aster v Paster A cancellation action was filed against the Office’s decision rejecting the opposition filed against the trade mark PASTER in class 5 relying upon the… »
Minority Shareholders' Rights in Joint Stock Companies
In order to prevent the majority shareholders, who hold the superiority of capital and voting in the management of joint stock companies, from executing unfair and unjust acts against the minority shareholders and violating the rights of the minority shareholders, the legislator has granted some special rights to the minority shareholders and allowed them to protect their interests against the decisions taken with the influence of the majority. Thus, the balance of interests… »
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News and Events
We Welcomed Our New Formal Trainees at the New Term Opening
In our new term opening meeting, we were together even though we were far away. On this occasion, we welcomed our new formal trainees who have recently joined us.
Mehmet Gün and Uğur Aktekin Have Been Recognized in the WTR Global Leaders Guide 2020
Mehmet Gün, our founding partner, and Uğur Aktekin, co-chair of our intellectual property practice area, have been recognized in the WTR Global Leaders Guide 2020. WTR Global Leaders evaluates law firm and corporate trademark experts according to their expertise and experience in relation to creating, protecting, managing and enforcing essential brand rights, and also their ability to innovate, inspire and go above and beyond to deliver for their clients.…
TÜSİAD SD² Digital Industry Program 2020 Calls Has Been Published
TÜSİAD (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) SD² Digital Industry Program calls, which is Turkey’s first comprehensive and local program on digital transformation in industry and which is intended to create an ecosystem bringing the technology user and provider companies together, has been published. As Gün + Partners which has made the corporate law firm management software GÜNCE available for lawyers’ use and which has recently entered into a…
Özlem Divandiler, Our Finance Director, Has Been Chosen as a Mentor for the TÜBİTAK “BIGG+ Mentor” Program
Özlem Divandiler, our finance director, has been chosen as a mentor by TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) for the “BIGG+ Mentor” Program which has been put into practice with the aim of supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Turkey, contributing to the growth of start-ups and increasing the number of investible start-ups. We congratulate her for offering volunteer mentoring services and for being one of the mentors chosen by TÜBİTAK…
We organized the First Online Customs Training in Turkey
We organized the first online Customs Training in Turkey and performed the presentations for our clients. 200 Customs officers attended the online training and thanks to Turkish Customs General Directorate for the organization.
IAM Patent 1000 - The World's Leading Patent Professionals 2020 Rankings Announced
We are pleased to announce that we have been named as the top tier firm and our 7 practitioners are recognized as the leading individuals in the IAM Patent 1000 - The World's Leading Patent Professionals 2020. The IAM Patent 1000 delivers the most in-depth coverage of the market yet undertaken, pinpointing the best of the best in prosecution, litigation and licensing.
Euromoney's MIP IP STARS 2020 Rankings Announced
We are proud to be listed as top tier firm and our 4 lawyers are recognized as IP Stars by Euromoney's MIP IP STARS 2020 rankings which is the leading resource for who is looking for the best legal practitioners for contentious and non-contentious IP advice since 1990.
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