Insights
RTUK’s Supervision over Internet Broadcasts
The amendments dated 27.03.2018 to Law No. 6112 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and Their Media Services (“RTUK Law”) introduced Article 29/A to the RTUK Law, basically ruling that media service providers that make online broadcasting, and platform operators, which transmit these broadcasts via the internet, are required to obtain broadcasting licenses from the Radio and Television Supreme Council (“RTUK”). As per the same provision, media service… »
Contests and Sweepstakes
Chance-based sweepstakes (i.e. random-draw promotions, instant-win games) and skill-based contests are generally permissible in Turkey. Chance-based sweepstakes where cash is given as a prize, may only be conducted by the National Lottery Administration (“NLA”), which is the sole authority to organize lotteries and draws with a cash reward. Chance-based sweepstakes and skill-based contests, where the prize is non-cash, can be conducted by real or legal persons under specific… »
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… »
Difficulties of Enforcing Patent Rights on NPP Products
The supply of pharmaceutical products to Turkey via the named patient programme (the “NPP”) is one of the exceptional importation regimes for pharmaceutical products. Where a pharmaceutical product is not granted marketing authorisation in Turkey, but patients are in need of it, it can be supplied via this special route. The entities that are authorised to import pharmaceuticals within the scope of the NPP are the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association (the “TEB”) and the Ibn-i… »
Ex Parte Injunctions in Turkish IP Law
Although ex parte injunctions are legally available, are quite rare in Turkish Patent Law practice. The IP Courts almost always reject requests for ex parte injunctions, preferring to evaluate the alleged infringement only after hearing both parties. However, in 2019, the Turkish IP Court unexpectedly granted a request for an ex parte injunction, due to the urgent nature of the matter. The request for this ex parte injunction was filed against a company in Argentina. The… »
Discovery of Evidence Is Not Subject to Bolar Exemption
Discovery of evidence and actions for determination of evidence are separately regulated under the Civil Procedural Law. Discovery of evidence is a preliminary step taken before any action on the merits, and it only serves to discover and record the evidence that may be relevant to an ongoing or future action on the merits. It must be emphasised that unlike the US and UK systems, there is no full and frank disclosure procedure under Turkish civil law. In other words, the… »
Impact of EPO Opposition on National Actions
Since Turkey’s inclusion as a member of the EPC, a hot topic has been the enforcement or invalidity of Turkish validation of European Patent(s) (“EP”) while proceedings before the European Patent Office (the “EPO”) are pending. Once an EP is validated in Turkey, it becomes a national patent three months after its first granted decision by the Examination Board of the EPO. For EPs, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (the “TPMO”) acts only as a procedural agency. Thus, the… »
2nd Damages Judgment in the Pharma Sector for Unjust PI
In 2018, the Istanbul IP Court decided on a generic pharmaceutical company’s damages claim based on an unjust PI, in what appears to be the first decision of its kind by the Turkish IP Courts within the pharmaceutical sector. The dispute between an originator firm and a generic firm derived from an infringement claim. The Court had issued a PI, which was lifted after 13 months based on the findings of an expert’s report, which found that no infringement had been made. The… »
Insurance Sector in Progress
Insurance sector, with its non-penetrated potential, has long been considered as one of the prospective vanguards of the economy. The latest developments signify these high hopes held for the insurance market and its contributions. Turkish government has an objective to be the 10th biggest economy in the world by 2023, aiming to generate US$2 trillion worth of gross national product.[1] In line with this objective, the government has the insurance sector, among others, in its… »
Some New Regulations Brought by the Judicial Reform Package
The first step has been taken towards the judicial reform, which has become a hot topic recently. With the Law No. 7188 on Making Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure and Certain Laws (“Law No. 7188”) dated 17 October 2019, which took effect with its promulgation in the Official Gazette No. 30928 of 24 October 2019; critical amendments have been made particularly with regards to the criminal procedure. Among these amendments, the ones which are considered to affect… »
Turkish Patent and Trademark Office Published the New Trademark Examination Guideline
Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“the Office”) published The New Trademark Examination Guideline (“Guideline”) on September 30, 2019. The guideline defines the criteria regarding the examination of trademark applications on absolute grounds within the scope of Industrial Property Code (“the IP Code”) that came into force in 2017. The Guideline aims to update the previous guideline which was in force since 2011, clarify the principles of absolute grounds for refusal that… »
Foreign Equivalent of Geographical Mame May Be Registered If Average Public Would Not Understand Its Meaning
The Trademark and Patent Offi ce refused to register Škoda Auto AS’ mark SUEDIA for automobiles on absolute grounds The Re-examination and Evaluation Board found that, although the term ‘Suedia’ means ‘Sweden’ in Romanian, such meaning would not be readily perceived by the average Turkish consumer This decision adopts a broader interpretation of distinctiveness for marks that include a geographical name in a language that is not widely known to the relevant public A recent… »