The Long-Awaited Amendments to the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law Has Been Enacted
The Law No. 7499 on Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure and Certain Laws (“the, which includes the long-awaited amendments to the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (the “Law”) and is also referred to as the 8th Judicial Reform Package, was published in the Official Gazette dated 12 March 2024 and numbered 32487. Significant changes regarding the processing of sensitive personal data, cross-border transfer of personal data, administrative sanctions and legal remedies… »
Does Artificial Intelligence Tell the Truth?
Being aware of the fact that technological developments have diversified the ways in which commercial advertisements are created and presented to consumers, the Advertisement Board ("Board") scrutinizes the advertising content created by artificial intelligence. In Turkey, there is no regulation that directly addresses advertisements created by using artificial intelligence. The Board reviews these advertisements in accordance with the general principles of truth and good… »
Combating Counterfeit and Smuggled Drugs
Foreign pharmaceutical trademarks, in principle, are registered in the name of the companies in the countries where they are established, and trademark protection procedures are managed by those companies. Although affiliates in Türkiye are not a party to trademark protection proceedings, since they become the marketing authorization holders of the drug, they are considered the relevant addressee of the Ministry of Health (“MoH”) in all transactions related to the… »
New Legislation on IP Infringement on e-Commerce Platforms
Law No. 7416, amending E-Commerce Law came into effect on January 01, 2023. This law obliges e-commerce platforms to take down a product if they receive a legitimate complaint alleging that a violation of intellectual and industrial property rights has occurred on their platform. According to Law No. 7416, the general principle is that the intermediary service provider (i.e., the platform) is not responsible for the illegality of the content offered by the service provider.… »
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Trademark Law
The impact of the spread of artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies can be seen in many areas of law, including trademark law. The rapid development of AI technologies has given rise to the need to re-evaluate some of the basic practices and concepts of trademark law. The first aspect of these developments is the use of AI in trademark application, registration and other related administrative procedures. As can be seen from the Index[1] published by the World… »
The Relationship Between Virtual and Physical Goods and Services
The development of NFTs, artificial intelligence, and the metaverse has seen many individuals and legal entities start to include virtual goods and services within the scope of their trademarks. Discussions have been widely held about whether virtual goods and services are similar to physical goods and services and under which class these goods and services should be included in the Nice Classification, and the following developments have taken place in this regard. In a… »
The Use Criteria For The Recognition of Vested Right Claim Based on a Prior Trademark
In its decision dated 21.12.2022 and numbered 2021/5302 E.(Merits), 2022/9311 K.(Decision), the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation upheld the Regional Court of Appeal’s decision regarding a refiled trademark application that because the plaintiff could not prove genuine use in class 44, a vested right in the plaintiff’s favor over the “M…” trademark was not constituted. On June 07, 2013, a trademark application was filed for the registration of the trademark “M…” in… »
Overview of Turkish IP Protection: Navigating Challenges
Turkish IP legislation is mostly in compliance with EU legislation. With the adoption of IP Code No. 6769 back in 2017, it is fair to say that legislation regarding trademarks, designs and patents is in line with international norms and standards. While the legal framework provides a solid foundation for IP rights protection, practical obstacles persist, revealing the need for further improvements. A significant challenge has been the limited specialized knowledge among… »
Strategic Battlefield in Combating Counterfeiters: Turkish Riviera, West and South Coast of Türkiye
With a coastline of almost 9,000 kilometers and over 550 blue flag beaches, Türkiye welcomes millions of domestic and foreign tourists during the summer season each year. The most popular area for summer vacations is known as the Turkish Riviera, comprising the cities of Antalya and Muğla in particular, and also some parts of Aydın and Izmir, encompassing the main districts of Alanya, Antalya, Kemer, Fethiye, Marmaris, Bodrum, Kuşadası and Çeşme from the south to the west… »
Examination of Novelty of Designs in Türkiye
A decision of 29 March 2023 of the General Assembly of the Turkish Court of Cassation has clarified whether the examination of lawfulness of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office’s decision on absolute novelty of a design is limited to the evidence submitted in the opposition process or whether ex officio examination can be conducted at any phase. Güldeniz Doğan Alkan and Hatice İnci Turan report for Class 99. The facts of the case The design subject to the opposition The… »
Proposed Amendments Regarding the Turkish Personal Data Protection
A draft bill (the "Draft Bill") including long-awaited amendments to Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (the "Law") has been submitted for review to the commissions of the Turkish Grand National Assembly ("TBMM") and it is expected to be enacted shortly after being evaluated by the Justice Commission, the Constitution Commission, and the Planning and Budget Commission. The Draft Bill contains comprehensive amendment proposals affecting data controllers. With enactment of… »
Insurance Litigation 2024 in Turkey
ForaIn what fora are insurance disputes litigated? In the Turkish judicial system, in principle, insurance disputes are resolved by the commercial courts, irrespective of the amount or value of the dispute. On the other hand, insurance disputes arising out of maritime law are heard by a specialised commercial court. Insurance disputes to which a consumer is a party are heard by consumer courts. If a province has no specialised or regular commercial court, disputes are heard… »