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… »
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… »
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… »
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
Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş Is Listed in Data 2021 Research by Who’s Who Legal
Begüm Yavuzdoğan Okumuş, managing associate in our data protection and privacy practice, is listed in Data 2021 Research by Who’s Who Legal which recognises individual practitioners who received the highest number of nominations from peers, corporate counsel and other market sources. https://whoswholegal.com/begum-yavuzdogan
Barış Kalaycı Moderated a Discussion During INTA Leadership Meeting
Barış Kalaycı, chair of our anti-counterfeiting practice, moderated a Table Topic discussion during INTA Leadership Meeting entitled: “How to Support Anticounterfeiting Activities with Anti-Money Laundering Provisions? A Possible Solution to Fake Sales on the Internet and Small Parcel Shipments” on Monday, Nov 9. https://www.inta.org/wp-content/uploads/public-files/events/2020AMLM/2020AMLM_SCHEDULE-091820.pdf
Barış Kalaycı recognized as Litigation & Enforcement Lawyer of the Year: White Collar Crime by Euromoney
Baris Kalayci, partner in our Business Crimes and Anti-Corruption practice, recognized as Litigation & Enforcement Lawyer of the Year in White Collar Crime by Euromoney Legal Media Group's European Life Sciences Awards 2020. The awards highlight the firms, individuals and companies behind the most innovative and challenging Life Sciences legal work of the past year, as well as those driving the international market.
Announcement of Promotions
We are pleased to announce the promotions of Dilan Sıla Kayalıca, Yalçın Umut Talay, Zeynep Çağla Üstün and Baran Güney as our new senior associates.