Insights
Turkey’s Pharmaceutical Industry and Key Developments
“In Turkey, the active population, retirees and their dependants are covered by health insurance provided by the Social Security Institution (‘SSI’). Employers must pay monthly contributions for their employees, who automatically become covered. Those who are self-employed may also benefit from this insurance coverage by voluntarily paying monthly contributions. Health insurance provided by the SSI covers practically every physical examination, test and treatment (both… »
FICPI Turkey – Roundtable Meeting on EP Opposition Procedures
FICPI – TURKEY arranged its sixth roundtable meeting on opposition proceedings of European Patents before the European Patent Office (“EPO”), the protection of the amended version of already validated patents in Turkey following the opposition procedure and how the opposition procedures of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“Office”) should be as per the new law. Mr. Barış Atalay, who is a European and Turkish Patent Attorney and member of FICPI – TURKEY, moderated the… »
Obligation of Notification of Personal Data Violations to Turkish DPA
Law on Protection of Personal Data numbered 6698 provides under the article titled “Data Security Liabilities” that, data controllers must take all necessary technical and administrative measures to ensure the appropriate level of security to: Prevent unlawful processing of personal data, Prevent unlawful access to personal data, Maintain safeguarding of personal data. Within the scope of the same article, if the data processed is obtained/ accessed by third parties through… »
New Guidelines on Protection of Personal Data in Pharmacovigilance Activities
The Agency published Guidelines on Protection of Personal Data in Pharmacovigilance Activities (“Guidelines”) on 1 August 2019. The Guidelines state that no explicit consent is required for the processing of patient data reported by the adverse effect notification, regardless of whether the person making the adverse effect notification is a patient, healthcare professional or relative. Additionally, pursuant to the Guidelines, the persons under the confidentiality obligation… »
New Milestone in Turkish arbitration: Istanbul Arbitration Association’s Code of Ethics for Arbitrators
The Istanbul Arbitration Association (ISTA) is the only non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Turkey focused on transforming the country, and especially Istanbul, into a reputable, reliable and effective arbitration centre, fully recognised in the national and international arenas. It works to promote the advantages of using Istanbul as a seat of arbitration, to foster arbitration in Turkey, and to ensure that arbitration practices in Turkey are conducted in a fair… »
Can One Arbitrate With a Turkish Party Based on a Contract in a Language Other Than Turkish?
Although parties to international transactions frequently agree to arbitrate, they sometimes reconsider that commitment when a dispute arises, and look to challenge the validity of the arbitration agreement. Thanks to the separability presumption, the courts and the tribunals insulate the arbitration agreements from attacks on the underlying contract and uphold arbitration. However, the separability presumption sometimes backfires; particularly if one is attempting to… »
Court of Cassation Issues Long-Awaited Decision on Non-Use Revocation Actions
A four-day legal gap was created following the annulment of Article 14 of Decree-Law No 556, which regulated the use requirement The Court of Cassation has recently considered this legal gap for the first time It is now clear that one may file a non-use revocation action without having to wait for the expiry of the five-year period following the publication of the IP Code Background In 2016 the Turkish Constitutional Court annulled Article 14 of Decree-Law No 556, which… »
Collection of Limited Liability Company’s Tax Debts from Shareholders is Now Easier
The liability arising out of the failure to pay the company debts directly belongs to the company itself since it has a separate legal entity. Therefore, the application is made to the legal entity first for the unpaid tax debts of the limited liability company, and if it is determined that the debt cannot be collected from the company, the application is directed to the legal representatives or to the shareholders. This is being the rule; the company itself is responsible… »
Significant Amendments to the Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial Property Code
Amendments to the Turkish Property Code were published in the Official Gazette on 8 July 2019 Notarised signature declarations/notarised signature circulars are no longer required for a number of procedures It is hoped that this will eliminate paperwork and speed up processes at the Patent and Trademark Office The Turkish Regulation on the Implementation of the Industrial Property Code, which is the main regulation for industrial property rights, has been amended by a… »
Liability of Board Members Without Representation Authority for Social Security Institution Debts
The Turkish Constitutional Court rules in its decision dated May 30, 2019 and having the application number of 2015/11192 and also published in the Official Gazette numbered 30836 and dated July 19, 2019 (the “Decision”) that holding the board of director’s members, not having any representation authority, jointly and severally liable with the joint stock company for the Social Security Institution (“SSI”) debts does not violate proprietary right of the concerned member of… »
Victory for Red Bull as Trademark Office Refuses Application for Blue and Grey Colour Mark
Red Bull opposed an application for a colour combination mark for goods in Class 32 based on earlier colour/device marks for identical goods The examiner found, among other things, that there was no risk that the application would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctiveness or well-known status of Red Bull’s marks The board disagreed, finding that the application was confusingly similar to Red Bull’s marks and might mislead consumers as to the source… »
Filing an Abridged Application Within Terms of RDP Does Not Constitute Unfair Competition
Co-published Regulatory data protection (RDP) terms are dealt with only in the Licensing Regulation of the Ministry of Health (MoH). In principle the provision grants the protection of data for six years following the first marketing authorisation for a drug granted in the European Union. However, there is no mechanism to prevent a generic drug company from using the data before the term expires. The MoH interprets the provisions as granting market exclusivity and allows… »