Insights
The Implications of EPO Opposition Proceedings on Enforcement and Validity Actions in Turkey
Ever since Turkey became a member to European Patent Convention (EPC), the enforcement or invalidity of the Turkish validation of a European Patent (EP), while proceedings before European Patent Office (EPO) are pending, has been a hot topic. The owner of a EP is normally concerned with if and how the pending opposition/appeal proceedings before the EPO impacts the enforceability or validity of the national patent validated in Turkey. The strength of a patent may seem… »
2nd Roundtable Meeting Report on “Article 155 of the IP Code”
FICPI-Turkey arranged its second roundtable meeting on the Article 155 of the Industrial Property Code no. 6769 (hereinafter referred to as “IP Code”), which is; a patent, trademark or design right holder cannot allege its registered rights as a defense in an infringement action filed by a prior right holder. This article has become a consolidated article for patents, trademarks and designs with the entrance into force of the IP Code on January 10, 2017, while it used to be… »
Istanbul IP Court Rejects PI Demand due to Pending Invalidation Action
One of the two IP courts of Istanbul rejected a crucial precautionary injunction (PI) demand of a owner on the ground that the demand requires a full trial due to the pending invalidation action against the relevant patent. The patent subject of the PI demand is disclosing use of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for the treatment of certain conditions of a disease. As per the summaries of product characteristics (SmPCs) of the defendant’s drug, the infringement of… »
Life Sciences Newsletter, April 2018
Law on the Payment by the Ministry of Finance of Medical Device Companies’ accumulated receivables Dicle Doğan and Fatma Sevde Tan, Gun + Partners Historically, medical device companies could not receive payments for any products sold to state university hospitals in Turkey. On 6 April 2018, an Omnibus Bill was published in the Official Gazette numbered 30383 (Turkish language), introducing a new payment model for accumulated unpaid debts arising from the purchase of drugs… »
Debts Related to Purchase of Drugs and Medical Devices will be Covered by the Ministry of Finance
Medical device and pharmaceutical companies could not get payments for products they sold to public university hospitals for a long while. It was the issue of concern how these debts, which disrupted the cash flow of the sector, would be compensated. On April 6, 2018, the Law numbered 7104 on Amendment of the Value Added Tax Law, Some Laws and Decree Law No. 178 was published (“Law”).”Provisional Article 75″ added to Law No. 2547 of the Higher Education Law with the Law;… »
Turkey Implements Further Measures to Improve the Country’s Investment Environment
While Turkey has faced many challenging times over recent years, a wide range of efforts have and continue to be made by the Turkish government to further improve the country’s investment environment. One such initiative is the recent introduction of a new law, ‘Law on the Amendment of Certain Laws for the Improvement of the Investment Environment numbered 7099’ (the “Law”), which was published in Turkey’s Official Gazette on 10 March 2018 to (i) support domestic and… »
Key Developments and Predictions for Trademark Law in Turkey
The Industrial Property Code No. 6769 (“the IP Code”) which came into force on 10 January 2017 has been widely welcomed by brand owners as their rights have now been sealed through the introduction of this new Code. The primary reason for the enactment of the new Code was the cancellation of various articles of the former Decree-laws on IP rights by the Constitutional Court on the grounds of Article 91 of the Constitution, which prohibits regulation of the property rights by… »
The New Personal Data Protection Law in Turkey
This article gives an overview of the new Personal Data Protection Law that entered into force in Turkey in 2016, and the secondary legislation that was subsequently issued. It analyses the most important points under the new legislation and the many obligations that data controllers must now comply with when dealing with personal data. The article is part of the global guide to data protection and privacy. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As… »
Commercial Cases Worth Less than TL100,000 now Subject to Simplified Procedure
Under Turkish law, there are two types of procedure in civil proceedings. Written procedure is the main and most common type, whereas the simple procedure, as the name suggests, is a simplified and expedited process. There are two rounds of written submission in written procedure (ie, pleading and response and rebuttal and rejoinder). However, in the simplified procedure, only pleading and response petitions can be filed by the parties. In principle, commercial cases are… »
Court of Appeals: Target Consumers’ Level of Attention Rules out Likelihood of Confusion
Owner of A-101 marks opposed registration of A10.COM in Classes 9 and 41 Office and IP Court found that there was a likelihood of confusion Court of Appeals reversed due to high level of attention of target consumers In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals has ruled that the level of attention of the target consumers of a trademark plays a significant role in the assessment of the likelihood of confusion. Background On March 9 2012 Dutch company Spil Games applied to… »
Distribution and Marketing of Drugs in Turkey
A Q&A guide to distribution and marketing of drugs law in Turkey. The Q&A gives a high level overview of distribution and marketing of drugs law, including pre-conditions for distribution; licensing; wholesale distribution; marketing to consumers; marketing to professionals and engagement with patient organisations. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions, visit the Distribution and Marketing of Drugs Country Q&A Tool. This Q&A is part of the global… »
SARAY POPPY Decision: a New Approach to Likelihood of Confusion and Vested Rights?
On October 25 2017 the Turkish Court of Appeal upheld a decision of the Civil IP Court in which the latter had assessed the similarity between two trademarks by taking into account generic words that would not normally be considered in the examination of the likelihood of confusion. The decision also deals with the hot topic of how, and under which conditions, an earlier trademark provides vested rights to its owner. An application was filed for the registration of the mark… »