Insights
Court of Appeal Reverses Own Decision in WING CHUN Case
The First-Instance IP Court rejected a request for the invalidation of the mark WING CHUN in Classes 41 and 45, and the Court of Appeal affirmed On further appeal, the Court of Appeal reversed its own opinion The court held that the mark should be invalidated for some of the remaining services in Class 41 Background In 2011 the defendant applied to register the trademark WING CHUN in Classes 41 and 45, including sports activities, educational services, organisation of… »
Court of Appeal: Plaintiff Lost its Right to Claim Trademark Infringement Due to Silence
In a case involving several MESA marks, the Court of Appeal has confirmed that the plaintiff had lost its right to claim trademark infringement due to its silence The court applied this principle even though the defendant had not clearly raised it as a defence The case highlights that loss of right to sue due to silence is an important tool for defendants in trademark infringement/invalidation actions Background The plaintiff, acting as the owner of the trademark MESA and… »
Constitutional Court's Recent Decision on Reviewing Employees’ Corporate E-Mails by Employers
Reviewing employees’ corporate e-mail addresses by employers and relying on any findings collected during the inspection in a potential termination has been a controversial issue in terms of protection of personal data and privacy. The Constitutional Court rendered two decisions within the last four years regarding the right to privacy and privacy of communication aspects of the matter. Both decisions particularly elaborate on information of employees. Constitutional Court's… »
Compensation Claims Arising out of Distribution Agreements under Turkish Law
Introduction As a sui generis agreement under Turkish law, distribution agreement mainly contains the characteristics of a sales and purchase agreement; however, it also differs from the same since the distributor's role is not limited to simply purchasing the products from the supplier/principal and selling them to customers or end-users. Instead, in a distribution agreement, the distributor is incorporated into the distribution chain of the supplier with having the right… »
Cookies & Similar Technologies in Turkey
1. GOVERNING TEXTS 1.1. Legislation There is no specific legislation applicable to cookies and similar technologies. However, to the extent that cookies and similar technologies include or may be used to collect any data related to an identified or identifiable individual (personal data), then Law on Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 ('the Law') and its secondary legislation are also applicable to cookies and similar technologies which may be used by data controllers… »
Claiming Compensation for IP Infringement
IP right owners suffer a huge amount of damages in some IP right infringement cases as they invest substantial amounts for their rights. Therefore, compensation claims are of vital importance for IP right owners in order to recover their damages, protect reputation and have a deterrent impact on the infringing party. Since every IP right infringement act is primarily a tort, it is necessary to prove the wrongful act, fault of the infringing party, incurred damage and the… »
Borders and Principles of Processing Employee Data in Turkey in Light of DPA and Court Decisions
Click here to watch the webinar on this topic. Private life has been protected under the Turkish Constitution before the enactment of Data Protection Law came into force in 2016 in Turkey. Disputes related to monitoring employee personal data in the work place have been subject to court decisions based on the constitutional provisions mostly and also several decisions have been taken by the Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) in this respect. Legal grounds for data processing… »
Can Foreign Court Decisions Concerning IP Rights Be Enforced in Turkey?
In principle, a court order rendered in a country has its legal effects and consequences only within the same country. For a foreign court decision to create legal effects and consequences in Turkey, this decision needs to be legally recognised and enforced by Turkish courts. The regulations regarding the recognition and/or enforcement of foreign court decisions are stipulated between Article 50 and 59 of the International Private and Civil Procedure Code (IPCPC) numbered… »
Arbitration Proceedings Regarding Determination of Reasonable Amount for Employee’s Invention
In 2020, an arbitration judgment was held in accordance with the ISTAC serial arbitration procedure regarding the compensation request for employee invention and, as far as it is known, this is the first and pilot file in which the Regulation on Employee Inventions, Inventions in Higher Education Institutions and Public Funded Projects, will determine the price tariff for employees’ inventions and the arbitration procedure to be followed in case of dispute. Within the scope… »
An Alternative to Data Transfers Abroad: Binding Corporate Rules
With the announcement dated April 10 2020, Turkish Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) determined Binding Corporate Rules as a mean to be used for the data transfer abroad based on Article 9/2 of Law on Personal Data Protection numbered 6698 (“Law”) and introduced a new tool for the highly controversial and ambiguous matter in Turkey. By indicating in the announcement that the undertakings taken as per Article 9/2 of the Law would be usually practical for the bilateral data… »
Application of the Data Protection Law
The Data Protection Law applies to data controllers who process and transfer personal data under their control. Furthermore, in the situation where data controllers utilise the services of third party data processors for these processes, the law holds them jointly liable for taking all of the technical and administrative measures required to ensure the safeguarding of personal data and to prevent any unlawful access or processing. The Data Protection Law does not envisage the… »
Ambush Marketing 2021 in Turkey
Hande Hançar and Baran Güney has contributed to the Turkey chapter of Ambush Marketing: A Global Legal Perspective book which is published by Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA) in January 2021. Description A global legal compendium of the laws related to ambush marketing in approximately 70 countries around the globe. Written by members of the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA) a network of the leading advertising lawyers in the world. Executive… »