Insights
Turkey Appealed the Decision of the World Trade Organization Panel on the Localisation Policy Regarding Pharmaceutical Products
In Turkey, specific healthcare services are reimbursed by the government due to the social state principle. Accordingly, a large portion of the prescribed pharmaceutical products have been included in the reimbursement list of the Social Security Institution (“SSI”) and the payments of the treatments have been completely or partially made by the SSI. According to the legal framework, pharmaceutical products with the marketing authorization can be included in the… »
Amendment on the Decision on Pricing of Medicinal Products for Human Use
The Presidential Decree numbered 6365 Amending the Decision on Pricing of Medicinal Products For Human Use (“Decision”) was published in the Official Gazette numbered 32008 on 9 November 2022. The following paragraph has been added to Article 2 of the Decision: “Discount practices that cause temporary price changes in country/countries where the product is offered for sale, special practices related to product classification and taxation practices shall not be taken into… »
New Regulation on Licensing of Human Medicinal Products
The New Regulation on Licensing of Human Medicinal Products (the “Regulation”) prepared by the TITCK entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette numbered 31686 and dated December 11 2021. It has been seen that the purpose aimed with the Regulation is reflecting up-to-date processes present in the TITCK practice but did not exist in the previous regulation dated 2005 and providing compatibility of the legislation with the EU directive numbered… »
How to use Right to Seek New Employment During Notice Period
Introduction Indefinite-term employment agreements can be terminated by complying with notice periods, unless either party has a just cause for termination. Article 27 of the Labour Law regulates the right for employees to seek new employment during their notice periods: Within the notice periods, the employer is obliged to grant the employee the leave to seek new employment within the work hours and without making any salary deduction. Time of the leave to seek new… »
COVID-19: Update on Precautions to be Taken in Clinical Research in 2021
On 20 March 2020, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency published an announcement (Turkish language) titled "Precautions to be Taken in Clinical Research Due to COVID-19 Pandemic". This announcement was updated on 24 July 2020. On 19 July 2021, based on the normalisation process regarding COVID-19, the Agency published a further updated version of the announcement. According to the latest update, for initial applications for clinical research and applications… »
Guidelines on Use of Cookies in Turkey
The Guidelines on Use of Cookies (the “Guidelines”) was published by the Personal Data Protection Authority (the “Authority”) on June 20, 2022 which outlines good practice examples to guide data controllers. The Guidelines explain principles on use of cookies for data controllers to process data on legal grounds, use appropriate privacy notices and obtain explicit consent from data subject legally. Cookie Types Cookies are defined as low-sized, rich-format texts that allow… »
How Should Turkish Private Sector Read the 2021 Corruption Index?
The term corruption is often defined as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Corruption does not only kill public trust, but also prevents countries from unleashing their potential. Many studies indicate the negative correlation between corruption and sustainable economic growth. Entrepreneurship, investment, and business expansion all depend on transparency and accountability and may only flourish in an environment where corruptive attempts are fought back… »
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… »
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… »