Insights
How to Protect Color Marks in Turkey
The introduction of Industrial Property Code No. 6769 (IP Code) in Turkey in 2017 changed the definition of a trademark and explicitly listed colors as one of the signs that can be registered as trademarks using international color codes. But practice is showing that some color marks are easier to register than others. Registering single color marks can be more difficult, which can also be the case when it comes to enforcing them. Even before the legislative change… »
Red Bull Triumphs in Opposition Before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office
The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office has upheld Red Bull’s opposition against an application for a composite mark intended for energy drinks. Background The applicant, a food company established in 1996, sought to register the below trademark in Class 32 – particularly for energy drinks. (BLACK TALLBOSS mark) This application passed the initial examination and was published in the Official Trademark Bulletin of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, for possible… »
A Fairer Way to Determine Royalties in Turkish Compulsory Licensing
Compulsory licensing, which is regulated by both Article 99 of the repealed Decree Law 551 and Article 129 et seq of the Industrial Property Law, which follows Article 31 of the Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property (TRIPs), is a fairly recent institution in Turkey. However, covid-19 has given new urgency to the debate on this issue. Even though it has never actually been applied, compulsory licensing has been widely discussed, not only as a convenient tool to… »
Sanction Against Shoe Ad Disrespecting Food
The Advertisement Board rendered a recent guiding decision implementing Article 7/2 of the Regulation on Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commerce Practices (“Regulation”) titled “Accuracy and Honesty” and ruling that “Advertisements shall be in compliance with the principles of fair competition which have gained acceptance in both business life and in public opinion within the framework of the sense of economic and social responsibility” The decision pertains to the… »
Declaration of Use and Compulsory License
The new IP Law (the “Law”) numbered 6769 abolished the provisions on “The use requirement of patents,” and “The evidence of use” of the Decree Law Pertaining to the Protection of Patent Rights. The Law now focuses on the requirements of use for patents within the provision of a Compulsory License. Accordingly, a patent owner must make use of the patented invention within three years following publication of its granted decision in the Official Bulletin (‘the Bulletin’), or… »
Updates on NPP Products in Turkey
The Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency ("Agency") published the new Guidelines for Drug Supply and Use from Abroad ("Guidelines") on 23 October 2021. The Guidelines regulate the procedure of drug supply from abroad for drugs that are not authorized in Turkey or authorized but not available in the market for various reasons. The Guidelines were first published in 2014, updated in 2015, 2017, and 2020 and finally, the final version was published on 23 October… »
Singapore Convention Entered into Force on 11 April 2022 in Turkey
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (“the Singapore Convention”) on 20 December 2018, which was signed by Turkey on 07 August 2019 in Singapore. Turkey enacted the Law No. 7282 dated 25 February 2021[1] concerning the approval of the Singapore Convention, which was followed by the Presidential Decree (3866) dated 21 April 2021[2] concerning its ratification. Finally, with the Presidential… »
New Rules on Advertisements with Price Information and Advertisements for Discount Sales
Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices (“Regulation”) was amended in a way to include new measures and rules to regulate advertisements containing misleading price information and to protect consumers against unfair commercial practices. The amendments were enacted on February 1, 2022 and entered into force on March 1, 2022. According to new rules enacted in the Regulation; additional measures were implemented to protect consumers against… »
The Dangers of Basing Preliminary Injunctions on Determination of Evidence
Determination of evidence, which is one of the most important temporary legal protection measures regulated in our law, is an institution that ensures the protection of evidence that will assist the proving of the matter. Considering that the adversarial trial process is adopted in our civil procedure law, the significance of the right holder being able to have the evidence which will help them prove their rightness effectively determined, is clear. However, as will be… »
Guidelines on Named Patient Programme Amended in 2021
The Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency's guidelines on the Named Patient Programme (Turkish language) explains the procedure for the supply from abroad of drugs that are not authorised in Turkey or not available on the Turkish market. The guidelines were first published in 2014, amended in 2015, 2017 and 2020, and finally published in the most current version on 9 August 2021. The latest amendment made to the guidelines introduces the definition of generic products… »
Audit Standards for Information Security Processes
Introduction and Developments With the Presidential Circular on Information and Communication Security Measures which came into force once published on July 6, 2019 (the "Circular"), it was aimed to mitigate and neutralize serious security risks encountered in the digitalization process and ensure the security of critical data for public institutions and organizations and enterprises providing critical infrastructure services. The Information and Communication Security Guide… »
V Versus V: Assessment of Similarity Between One-letter Trademarks
The IP Court found that there was no likelihood of confusion between the parties’ ‘V’ marks, contradicting the expertreport’s evaluation Versace’s mark included fi gurative elements that rendered it distinctive, while the plaintiff’s marks included descriptivephrases The decision confi rms that the likelihood of confusion assessment shall be stricter when it comes to one-letter trademarks Background An opposition was fi led against Gianni Versace SRL’s trademark application… »