Insights
New Guidelines on Meetings Sponsored by Medical Device Companies
Dicle Doğan and Fatma Sevde Tan, Gun + Partners On 27 April 2020, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency published Guidelines on Scientific Meetings and Educational Activities regarding Medical Devices (Turkish language). The guidelines cover web-based scientific and educational meetings. Web-based meetings include online seminars, video conferences and meetings that can be watched over the network. Pursuant to the guidelines, web-based meetings are subject to the… »
Dividend Distribution Restrictions Imposed on Equity Companies in Scope of COVID-19 Measures
Within the scope of the fight against the spread of Covid-19, provisional article 13 was added to the Turkish Commercial Code (“TCC”) with the Law numbered 7244 adopted on 16 April 2020. The said provisional article brought certain restrictions on dividend distribution rights of the equity companies until 30 September 2020 and it was further regulated that the companies exempt from these restrictions and the procedures and principles regarding the application thereof would be… »
Advertisement Board Imposed Sanctions against Exorbitant Price Increase during COVID-19 Outbreak
While the world and Turkey are dealing with coronavirus pandemic, demand for protective masks, sanitizer, cleaning products and foodstuff significantly increased. Some manufacturers, suppliers and retail businesses exorbitantly and inequitably increased prices of those products which are intensively demanded by the consumers during this outbreak. The Advertisement Board, recently in March 2020, imposed administrative monetary fine corresponding to TRL 10.090.060… »
Commercial Dispute Resolution under Turkish Law: Rules, Developments and Insights
Commercial Dispute Resolution under Turkish Law: Rules, Developments and Insights Turkish civil litigation is a unique system where the concepts and practices of civil law meet with the ones originating from Turkish law. Along with the classical and common judiciary concepts and practices among civil law systems, Turkish law envisages a sui generis concept called “enforcement proceedings without judgment”. This frequently-resorted type of enforcement action is native to… »
Recent Developments about Unbreakable Deadlock in Consumer Disputes: Mediation and Solution Proposals
Introduction The fair and swift resolution of consumer disputes serves the interests of not only the consumers, but also the businesses involved. Consumers purchase more when they are confident that they will be treated fairly in a potential dispute. Businesses, on the other hand, become economically inoperable and unviable following systematic violations against consumers and the rapid and fair enforcement of consumer rights. In short, all market players are better off in an… »
Court of Cassation Reopens Debate on Recordation of Well-Known Trademarks
The Court of Cassation has held that the Patent and Trademark Office has no authority to create and maintain a registry for the recordation of well-known marks Well-known status must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis The finalisation of this decision will have significant repercussions In a recent decision that challenges longstanding precedents, the Court of Cassation has concluded that the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office has no authority to create and maintain a… »
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… »
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… »