A NEW ERA FOR ANTI-COUNTERFEIT BLOCKCHAIN PLANS OF EU INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE In the fight against counterfeiting, after EUIPO has launched the "Anti-Counterfeiting Blockathon Forum" in early 2021, now it intends to conduct a proof of concept at the end of this year and provide a live product by the end of 2023. The Forum's mission is to create a shared blockchain platform where all… Read More
Supreme Court Declares in the Long-Lasting Trademark Combat That the Attention Level for Unprescribed Medicines Is No Different Than the Prescribed Ones. Supreme Court Assembly of Civil Chambers has rendered a significant decision (E. 2017/413, K. 2021/1127 T. 30.09.2021) on the long-lasting trademark combat between the pharma trademarks. In the precedent, the plaintiff- owner of the “ZINCO”… Read More
Following a data breach which occurred within the company's web application server, the Personal Data Protection Authority (‘‘Authority’’) published a summary of its Decision No. 2021/1324, which was issued on 23 December 2021, in which it imposed a fine of TRY 1.9 million (approximately €122,130) on Yemek Sepeti Elektronik İletişim Perakende Gida Lojistik A.Ş. (‘‘Yemek Sepeti’’) for violations… Read More
It is crystal clear that with the rapid developments in technology, data processing has integrated in our everyday lives and the notion of data protection has become increasingly significant both for data subjects and brand owners. It was not so long ago that protection of brand value and brand trust was focused on conducting comprehensive IP protection for brand owners, while today data… Read More
Breach of data having caused the access to more photos than Facebook users are allowed, is announced by the Engineering Director of Facebook Tomer Bay on 14/12/2018 under the title of “Announcement about a photo API bugin our developer ecosystem”. According to this announcement, more photos were accessed than the capacity allowed by Facebook users. It is estimated that the data breach may have… Read More
The Personal Data Protection Authority (“Authority”) published a public announcement on February 15 2022, regarding technical and administrative measures to be taken by data controllers, in order to prevent data breaches and decrease the possible negative consequences against increased data breaches. The announcement has been effected in the view the recent data breach notifications to the… Read More
It will be recalled that, in the subject applications, the applicant Dr. Thaler has designated AI (DABUS)as inventor and claimed that he derived the “right to the patent by virtue of being its creator and owner”. The applicant asserted that the “inventions had been created autonomously” as DABUS, the so-called, “the creativity machine” “produces new ideas and mimics the human brain’s major… Read More
Landmark decision of the Board of Appeal finds no legal base to amend the description for aligning it with the allowed claims (T 1989/18 of 16.12.2021) The appeal was filed against the decision of the examining division refusing the application because it considered that the scope of protection was unclear following the amendments to the description after the claims have been allowed. The Board… Read More
The Personal Data Protection Authority (“KVKK”) has published its Recommendations on Protecting Personal Data in the Field of Artificial Intelligence (“Recommendations”) on September 15, 2021. The Recommendations consists of general policy recommendations and special considerations for developers, manufacturers, service providers, and policy makers who operate in the field of AI. The… Read More
Personal Data Protection Authority (hereunder referred as the “Authority”) rendered its decision on WhatsApp’s "Terms of Service” and “Privacy Policy”. Just a day after the decision of the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) on WhatsApp, the Authority has also fined WhatsApp TL 1,950,000 (around EUR 197,600) on September 3, 2021. It is the largest fine ever imposed by the Authority. Background… Read More
Download: Innovation and Invention Yearbook - Turkey Chapter - PDF The debate over finding a concrete legal framework for the enforcement of SEPs was one of the hot IP topics of 2020. The German Federal Supreme Court’s recent ruling on FRAND rules for SEPs in Sisvel v Haier based on the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) landmark Huawei v ZTE ruling has brought new dimensions to the debate – the… Read More
Today, Artificial intelligence (AI) is extensively used in variety of sectors and areas from drug discoveries to automotive (autonomous cars/driving technology) or transportation and communication. As stated by WIPO Director General, Francis Gurry in the introduction of “WIPO Technology Trends 2019; “Artificial Intelligence is a new digital frontier that will have a profound impact on the world,… Read More
In 2014, the Istanbul IP Court rendered a decision that second medical use patents granted before December 13, 2007 are not patentable in respect of the Art. 52/4 of EPC 1973. The Court grounded its decision in that the Art. 52/4 of EPC 1973 does not explicitly mention the patentability of second (and further) use patents. The Court further stated that the revision of EPC 2000 by adding that… Read More
For any airplane to fly, one must lift the weight of the airplane, the fuel, the passengers, and the cargo. The body of the airplane, holds all the pieces together. Like SUPPORT FUNCTIONS of an enterprise.The wings generate most of the lift to hold the plane in the air. To generate lift, the airplane must be pushed through the air. Like PROFIT CENTERS or billable work for law firms. The pilots… Read More
Geographically positioned between Europe and Asia, Turkey is a strategically placed country, with a population of 82 million and a larger youth population than any EU member state. Taking its place on the list of G20 countries, Turkey aims to position itself in the global value chain and strengthen its export platform by focusing on high-tech patents, including electronic machinery and equipment,… Read More
The Law on Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure and to Other Regulations no. 7251 has entered into force with its publication in the Official Gazette on July 28, 2020 bringing significant changes to the Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) no. 6100. The newly introduced amendments will have impact on patent litigation. The party which does not comply with the preliminary injunction decision can… Read More
In the present case complaints have been filed against AMAZON as “data controller” respectively before the Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (hereunder referred as the “Authority”) for breach of the Law on Personal Data Protection (no. 6698) (hereunder referred as the “Law”) and before the Ministry of Commerce for breach of the Law on the Regulation of Electronic Trading (no. 6563). Both… Read More
An Effective Way to Combat Counterfeiting Activities Customs Regulation in Turkey entitles the IP right holders to file an online centralized application before the Customs for the monitoring of the counterfeiting activities at the borders. Such applications for the monitoring of registered trademarks and counterfeit goods shall be filed before the General Directorate of Customs an official body… Read More
Turkey is a party to a number of international conventions, including the Paris Convention, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Berne Convention. Legal framework Turkey is a party to a number of international conventions, including the Paris Convention, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Berne Convention.… Read More
The compulsory licensing discussion continues to be one of the hot topics in IP world after the announcement of the Covid-19 pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO). Several countries such as France, Germany, Canada amended or passed new legislation with an attempt to provide the possibility of compulsory licensing as a part of the measures with the Covid-19 pandemic. Israel was the first… Read More
Modification and/or replacement of the original packages, product codes and/or trademarks by an unauthorized 3rd party in order to mislead the origin source of the goods and to eliminate the guarantee function of trademark is accepted as a trademark infringement by means of rebranding and remarking as principle even though the goods are basically original. Are rebranding and remarking goods… Read More
Legal Framework The application in bad faith was taken into consideration by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (formerly known as Turkish Patent Institute) in evaluation of oppositions as well as it was by the Courts in invalidity actions in practice, even though the former Decree-Law no. 556 pertaining to Trademarks did not clearly cite application in bad faith among the grounds for… Read More
The Regulation on the Principles of Evaluation and Classification of Cinematic Films (“Regulation”) published in the Official Gazette on October 22, 2019, replacing its predecessor published on February 18, 2005. You may access the complete text of the Regulation in Turkish here. The purpose of the Regulation is to set forth the rules on how to evaluate and classify the cinematic films and their… Read More
Download: WTR 2019 - Turkey Chapter - PDF Legal framework Turkey is a party to a number of international conventions, including the Paris Convention and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, as well as having national legislation such as: the Industrial Property Code 6769; Law 5846 on Turkish Intellectual and Artistic Works Law; the Code of Commerce; the Customs Law;… Read More
Turkish Law regulates online activities under Law No. 5651 on Regulating Broadcasting in the Internet and Fighting Against Crimes Committed through Internet Broadcasting (Internet Law). In this context the Law no. 5651 includes provisions as to the obligations and responsibilities of content providers, hosting providers and access providers. Within the scope of the Law no. 5651 “access provider”… Read More
Turkey has adopted some regulations in order to combat with the counterfeit on online platforms as well as to determine the responsibility of the internet service providers ("ISPs") . Legal Framework and Practice: The Internet Law: The Law no. 5651 on Regulating Broadcasting in the Internet and Fighting against Crimes Committed through Internet Broadcasting (“Internet Law”) regulates the… Read More
What is a Social Media Influencer? The term “social media influencer” or simply “influencer” has become very popular in the recent years. But, what does it mean to be an influencer? An influencer is commonly described as “someone who affects or changes the way that other people behave, for >example through their use of social media” [1]. A latest report published by the Influencer Marketing Hub… Read More
The Industrial Property Code No. 6769 (“IP Code”) which entered into force as of January 10, 2017 regulated within Article 9 that a registered trademark will be vulnerable to cancellation if not used within five years term as from the date of registration. The wording of Article 9 of the IP Code was similar to the previous Article 14 of the repealed legislation Decree-Law no. 556 on the… Read More
The Turkish Industrial Property Code no. 6769 (IP Code) grants protection through registration for the appearance of a product or a part thereof. According to the IP Code, the protection is applied to the appearance of the whole or a part of a product or its ornamentation resulting from features such as lines, shape, form, color, material or surface texture that fulfill the novelty and individual… Read More
Current Legislation The current Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (Copyright Act) identifies the below-listed acts as a copyright infringement unless the copyright owner consents thereto: - Reproduction - Making the work available to the public - Alteration - Distribution - Communication to the public by devices enabling the transmission of signs, sounds and/or images With a… Read More
Introduction The Constitutional Court of the Republic Of Turkey (“Constitutional Court” or “Court) rendered an important decision regarding freedom of speech with relation to creating unfair competition by using a company’s trademark in a domain name with the purpose of criticism. The decision was published in the Official Gazette on March 20, 2019. The History of the Case The applicant party… Read More
According to a study in terms of economy-specific patterns, the analysis indicated that a few provenance economies dominate small parcel trade. These include China, Hong Kong (China), India, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey.1 The list which points out "top 10 provenance economies of small shipments containing fakes for the IP-intense sectors" published in this study ranked Turkey number 3 in… Read More
Legislation The Turkish Procedural Law No: 6100 in force since October 01, 2011 introduced a new procedure enabling the parties to submit private expert reports to the court action. Another important development was to introduce the cross examination procedure to in respect of the expert examination in the civil litigation. Article 293 stipulates that parties may obtain and submit as evidence,… Read More
Introduction The Constitutional Court of the Republic Of Turkey (“Constitutional Court” or “Court) has decided to cancel a provision under the Art. 398 of the Turkish Code of Civil Procedure (“Procedural Code”) regulating the penalty of not complying with the execution of preliminary injunctions on the ground of it is unconstitutional. The decision of cancellation was published on the Official… Read More
Turkey has exported TV content for USD 350 million in 2017 becoming the second largest drama exporter in the world, after USA, and expecting to sell around USD 1 billion by 2023; this, because it has entered other content genres, in addition to drama, especially entertainment formats. [1] It has long been a matter of debate in Turkey whether TV program formats would enjoy copyright protection under… Read More
The IP Court of Istanbul recently dismissed a copyright infringement action involving compensation claim, on grounds that the plaintiff has not implemented the procedural requirement to apply for meditation before filing the court action. The Court's decision is based on the recent legislation (Law No: 7155) which entered into force on January 1, 2019. The Law requires the implementation of the… Read More
The Turkish Industrial Property Code no. 6769 (IP Code) grants protection through registration for designs that fulfill the novelty and individual character criteria. According to the IP Code, novelty and individual character of a design application is set forth as conditions of protection, while Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“Turkish PTO”) is entitled to carry out ex officio examination… Read More
Introduction Anti-counterfeiting programme Comment Introduction DyStar was recently successful in securing the destruction of 3.3 tons of textile dyes that infringed one of its patents for reactive red dyes. The dyes were detained at the Mersin Free Zone following DyStar's customs application. The specialised Istanbul IP Court subsequently granted a preliminary injunction order. The destruction… Read More
Introduction The Industrial Property Code no. 6769 (IP Code) entered into force on January 10 2017. It repealed and replaced the decree-laws on patents, utility models, trademarks and service marks, industrial designs and geographical indications. The IP Code, despite its essential changes, makes no clear reference to the status of IP enforcement relating to ‘transit passing' goods. What the… Read More
We wish to report on the latest developments regarding the situation of the Turkish Patent & Trademark Office (TürkPatent) and of the profession of Patent and Trademark Attorneys on the basis of 3 texts published in the Official Gazette. 1 - Decree-Law No. 703 (by decision of the Council of Ministers of 02 July 2018) (Official Gazette No. 30473 3.bis of Monday 09 July 2018): - repeals the… Read More
The criminal provisions of the Code of Industrial Property No:6769 (IP Code) which has been entered into force on January 10, 2017 lists the following acts to constitute trademark infringement; “manufacturing, providing services, offer for sale, selling, importing, exporting, purchasing for commercial purposes, holding possession, transporting and storing for commercial purpose.” The Code enables… Read More
Turkey is a party to Berne Convention since 1951 which is the oldest international convention regulating copyright. Under Berne Convention and Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works (“Copyright Act”), there are no formalities regarding the registration of copyright. The work is protected upon its creation with no formality and/or ceremony. This being the fact, it is always advisable to register a… Read More
Prosecution and enforcement of IP rights Room for improvement IP legislation On April 17 2018 the European Commission released its Key Findings of the 2018 Report on Turkey and the Commission Staff Working Document on Turkey 2018 Report. Chapter 7 of the report is dedicated to Turkey's progress regarding the alignment of its laws with the European Union's IP acquis communautaire. Turkey was… Read More
Introduction Changes to patents, utility models, designs, trademarks and geographical indications Structural changes concerning patent protection and enforcement Requirement of use Filing with office of declaration and evidence of use discontinued Compulsory licences Adoption of reinstatement Employee inventions Filing language Mandatory declaration for genetic resources Farmer exception… Read More
Okan Çan a Partner of Deris Attorney-at-Law Partnership, will deliver a presentation during the conference held jointly by the IDR Group, Altinbas University and Istanbul Bar Association on behalf of WIPO with the topic : RESOLVING THE IP DISPUTES OUTSIDE OF THE COURTS THROUGH WIPO ADR Read More
New Duty Free Stores Regulation Acknowledges Enforcement of IP Rights On August 8, 2017; the Regulation on the Duty-Free Stores (the “Regulation“) issued by the Turkish Ministry of Customs and Trade was published in the Official Gazette. The Regulation will enter into force on September 7, 2017. The Regulation, sets forth requirements including establishing and operating a duty free store, entrance… Read More
The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office ('the Office') has been empowered to propose an alternative dispute resolution mechanism i.e. the mediation during the trademark opposition procedure by the new Industrial Property Code No. 6769 ('IP Code') which entered into force on January 10th of 2017. The Regulation issued for the implementation of the IP Code provides details on how the mediation… Read More
The new Law entered into force upon being published in the Official Gazette of January 10, 2017. Here are some major changes introduced by the new Law: Patents/Utility Models A Totally New Stage is Introduced: Post-Grant Opposition Upon publication of a grant decision, a third party may file an opposition against a granted patent within six months of its publication. Once the opposition is filed,… Read More
The new Law entered into force upon being published in the Official Gazette of January 10, 2017. Here are some major changes introduced by the new Law: Trademarks Colors, Motion and Sound Marks Colors and sound marks have been included in the definition of signs which may be protected as a trademark. More importantly, the requirement of capability to be represented graphically and reproduced by… Read More
(*) Turkey’s new Draft IP Law is before the Parliament A totally new stage : Post-Grant Opposition Current Legislation The current Decree Law No. 551 on Protection of Patent Rights did not have any regulations enabling third parties to oppose against patent grant decisions. Proposed Changes by the Draft IP Law The proposed draft of IP Code introduces a whole new stage of post-grant opposition.… Read More
The Turkish Parliament enacted new IP Law by December 22, 2016. The Law will enter into force once it is approved by the President and published in Official Gazette. Here are some major changes proposed by the new Law: Patents/Utility Models A Totally New Stage is Introduced: Post-Grant Opposition Upon publication of a grant decision, a third party may file an opposition against a granted patent… Read More
(*) Turkey’s new Draft IP Law is before the Parliament Administrative Procedure for Cancelling a Trademark Registration Current Legislation The Turkish Patent Institute (T.P.I.) has no authority to cancel a registered trademark according to the current provision. Proposed Changes by the Draft IP Law The draft entitles T.P.I. in its article 26 to cancel (to revoke) a trademark registration on the… Read More
(*) Turkey’s new Draft IP Law is before the Parliament The Refusal Grounds for Trademarks Current Legislation The Absolute Grounds and Relative Grounds for refusal provisions within the current Decree-Law No. 556 on the Protection of Trademarks, was mainly reflecting First Council Directive 89/104/EEC of 21 December 1988 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks.… Read More
Turkey is preparing to change the existing Decree Laws concerning the protection of trademarks, patents, industrial designs and the geographical indications by replacing them with a draft IP Law covering all the aforementioned rights. The draft was released on February 24, 2016 for public consultation until March 04, 2016 and has now been referred to the Parliament for enactment. At this stage,… Read More
Turkey: Proposed Major Changes by the Draft IP Law Trademarks – Geographical Indications Prosecution & Enforcement Turkey is preparing to change the existing Decree-Laws concerning the protection of trademarks, patents, industrial designs and the geographical indications by replacing them with a draft IP Law covering all the aforementioned rights. The draft was released on February 24, 2016 for… Read More
(*) Turkey’s new Draft IP Law is before the Parliament Non-use, Cancellation Claims can be filed before the Turkish Patent Institute Current Legislation According to the current Turkish Decree Law No. 556 on Trademarks, it is possible to institute a court action for the cancellation of a registered trademark on the basis of non-use, if the trademark has not been put to use without a… Read More
(*) Turkey’s new Draft IP Law is before the Parliament Registered IP Rights – No Longer a Valid Defense Against Infringement Claims Current Legislation The Decree Laws No. 556 for Trademarks and 554 for Industrial Design does not have any provision in this respect whereas the Decree Law No. 551 for Patents, regulates this matter under the heading of “Effects of Patents of Prior Date” in Article… Read More
(*) Turkey’s new Draft IP Law is before the Parliament Non-use, as a counter-claim Current Legislation According to the Article 14 of the current Turkish Decree Law no: 556 on Trademarks, it is possible to institute a court action for the cancellation of a registered trademark on the basis of the non-use if the trademark has not been put into use for the past 5 years period. However non-use can… Read More
(*) Turkey’s new Draft IP Law is before the Parliament Biotechnological Inventions Current Legislation The Decree Law No: 551 on Protection of Patents, does not specifically refer to the patentability of biotechnological inventions. The Decree Law Art.5 and Art.6 define patentable inventions and non-patentable subject matters in line with Art. 52 of the EPC 1973. Proposed Changes by the Draft IP… Read More
(*) Turkey’s new Draft IP Law is before the Parliament Process Patents - Burden of Proof Current Legislation Article 84 of the Decree Law No. 551 states that where a patent concerns a process for the manufacture of new products or substances, unless proof to the contrary, any product or substance having the same properties shall be deemed to have been obtained by using the patented process. The… Read More
The Turkish Parliament has enacted the anticipated draft Law on Protection of Personal Data (Law) on March 24, 2016. The Law will be referred to the President for approval and published in the Official Gazette if approved. We wish to refer some major topics concerning the Law as follows: Definition of Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data The newly enacted Law on Protection of Personal Data… Read More
The Law on Protection of Personal Data (Law) has been enacted on March 24, 2016 and published on the Official Gazette dated April 07, 2016. We wish to refer some major topics concerning the Law as follows: Definition of Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data The newly enacted Law on Protection of Personal Data (Law) mainly aims to protect the privacy, rights, and freedoms of persons in… Read More
Introduction It is commonly known that pharmaceutical patents cover the substance or the composition itself (molecule patents) and the use of this substance or composition in the treatment of a disease (indication patents). In pharmaceutical patents, the new and non-obvious use of a known substance or composition for the manufacture of a medicament in the treatment of a specific disease is called… Read More
With two new decisions the Constitutional Court continues to chip away other provisions of Decree- Law No. 556 on trademarks further eroding and weakening the legislative basis of the protection of IP rights. To put the issue into context reference is made to the articles published in: ILO (International Law Office) on 13 October 2014 Mondaq on December 2014/January 2015 indicating the series of… Read More
Long-time expected Electronic Commerce Law No.6563 has been enacted by The Grand National Assembly of Turkey on October 23, 2014 in harmonization with 2000/31/ EC E-Commerce Directive. The Law published on November 05, 2014 in the Official Gazette and will come to into force on May 1, 2015. Law provides two new definitions i.e. “Service Provider” and “Intermediary Service Provider.” The concept… Read More
As is known, the Decree-Law No. 551 on patents and utility models does not provide for opposition. Therefore the nationally filed patents/utility models are not subject to opposition whereas European patents extended to Turkey may be opposed before the European Patent Office. On the other hand the Decree-Law No. 551 provides for a total or partial invalidation of the patent/utility model by court… Read More
Turkey – Constitutional Court Cancels Provision Concerning The Invalidation Of Trademarks Due To Non-Use Thereby Fragilizing Further The Legislative Basis For The Protection Of Patents, Uitility Models, Design Patents, Geographical Indications And Trademarks: According to a recent decision1 of the Turkish Constitutional Court, the provision of Article 42/c of the Turkish Decree Law no: 556 on… Read More
