Insights
Compensatory Working under COVID-19 Measures
The COVID-19 outbreak, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11 March 2020, the date on which the first case in Turkey was discovered, has inevitably had a significant impact on economic life. The measures taken to minimise this impact eventually resulted in labour law having to be restructured according to the pandemic's circumstances. In this respect, the duration of compensatory working, which is stipulated under the Labour Act, has been… »
Suspension of Judicial Terms Due to COVID-19 Extended
The suspension of judicial terms due to COVID-19, which was set to expire on 30 April 2020, has been extended until 15 June 2020 (for further details please see "COVID-19: suspended proceedings and judicial terms"). However, this date will be re-evaluated if the risk of spreading the virus is eliminated before the extension expires. Background The Law on the Amendment of Certain Laws 7226 suspended procedural terms until 30 April 2020 in order to prevent any loss of rights in… »
Measures Against Manipulation and Misleading Transactions Are Expanding
Following the amendments made in the Banking Law No. 5411 on 20 February 2020, the Regulation on Manipulation and Misleading Transactions in Financial Markets (“the Regulation”) was published in the Official Gazette on 7 May 2020 and entered into force. The Article 76/A[1], which was added to the Banking Law on 20 February as the basis of the Regulation, defines manipulation and misleading transactions in financial markets by explicitly referring to the banking transactions… »
Getting Back To Work: How to Prepare Workplaces for the “New Normal” After COVID-19
With the first case announced on March 11th, 2020, COVID-19 pandemic has started to show certain impacts on, among others, business life in Turkey. At the writing date of this article, Turkey is going through a normalization phase. Indeed, on May 28th, the president announced that regular curfew imposed on weekends will be terminated, inter-provincial travel restrictions will be removed, and the age limit subject to be under continuous curfew will be lowered from 20 to 18, as… »
Prohibition on Termination and Unilateral Unpaid Leave Enters Into Force
Introduction On 17 April 2020 the Law on Minimising the Impacts of the New Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak on Economic and Social Life and the Amendment of Certain Laws (7244) (the Amendment Law) was published in the Official Gazette (31102) and entered into force. The most significant amendments introduced to the Labour Act, the Act on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements and the Unemployment Insurance Act include: the prohibition on employers terminating… »
Court of Appeal Grants Protection to Relatively Weak Mark in Questionable Decision
TURKPATENT found that there was no likelihood of confusion between AFİYETLE DİYET and AFİYET The IP Court, the District Court and Court of Appeal disagreed, concluding that there was a likelihood of confusion The case shows that there is no established approach to weak trademarks Background In 2014 the defendant applied to register the trademark AFİYETLE DİYET (which may be translated as ‘diet with health, appetite’) in Classes 5, 9, 29, 30, 31 and 32. The plaintiff, the… »
COVID-19: Precautions to Be Taken in Clinical Trials
On 20 March 2020, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency published an announcement (Turkish language) on precautions to be taken in clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement states that sponsors of clinical trials should continuously assess risk and update their research organisations accordingly. This risk assessment should take into account the COVID-19-related priorities, reduce the burden of research centres and follow social isolation… »
COVID-19: Restrictions on Promoting Medicines
In accordance with general precautions established by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency published new arrangements in March 2020 on promotional activities concerning medicines to encourage social isolation. On 19 March, the Agency published an announcement (Turkish language) indicating that product promotion representatives of the pharmaceutical companies must cease visiting health institutions and establishments… »
Keyword-Based Searches in Trademarks Law
In a recent decision, the Federal Court of Germany ruled that the platforms displaying third party products as search results for the searches based on keywords that are identical to a trademark on e-commerce web sites shall be liable for breaches in the trademarks rights, in the event that these platforms use an algorithm with an active role in determining the products to be displayed. The Court has also decided that AdWords ads directed to these lists also constitute a… »
Key Developments and Predictions for Life Sciences in Turkey
With Turkey having a population of 80 million that is covered by an extensive social healthcare system, the size and volume of the Turkish life sciences industry is significant. Despite many opportunities that accompany this potential for growth, it should also be noted that both the Turkish pharmaceutical and medical device industries remain heavily regulated in all aspects, ranging from market access, to pricing and reimbursement being covered by industry-specific… »
European Parliament Approved the Proposal for Postponing the Implementation Date of Medical Device Regulation No (EU) 2017/745 (MDR)
The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis has created extraordinary circumstances that require substantial additional resources and an increased availability of vitally important medical devices. However, none of this could reasonably have been anticipated at the time of adoption of the Medical Device Regulation numbered (EU) 2017 /745 (“MDR”) to be in the force on 26 May 2020. In this regard, on 3 April 2020, the European Commission has adopted a proposal to postpone by one year the… »
MedTech Europe Guidance Regarding Conduct During COVID-19 Crisis
In the current COVID-19 crisis medical device companies continue to prove support to healthcare professionals, healthcare organizations, healthcare systems and governments in order to fulfill the urgent needs. However, the local regulations and codes of conduct for the industry on relationship between the medical device companies and governmental organizations are still in force. Therefore, it is likely that some actions taken by the medical device companies in response to… »