Insights

Insights

We share our knowledge and expertise to update our community and clients about legal developments in Turkey.

It’s Time for Administrative Revocation of Trademarks!

Before the Industrial Property Law (“IP Code”) no. 6769 entered into force on January 10, 2017, procedures related to trademark rights were governed by the former Decree Law no. 556 on the Protection of Trademarks (“Decree Law”). While revocation of trademarks is dealt with by both pieces of legislation, the introduction of the IPL brings a major change to Turkish Trademark Law, stating that requests for revocation of trademarks must be filed with the Turkish Patent and… »

Turkey's New Trademark Revocation System: Administrative Changes Effective January 2024

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Administrative revocation will be possible before the Office as of 10 January 2024. According to Article 9 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (“IPL”), if a trademark is not used in five years as of its registration date or its use is suspended for a consecutive period of five years; it will be vulnerable to revocation due to non-use.   Revocation of trademarks based on non-use were traditionally filed as a court action before the specialized IP courts under the previous… »

Alternative Dispute Resolution System for Disputes Arising From ‘.tr’ Extended Domain Names in Türkiye

Overview On 14 September 2022, TRABIS (‘.tr’ Network Information System) took over the management of ‘.tr’ extended domain names with the Regulation coming into force in Türkiye. According to the Regulation, domain names can be allocated as documented or undocumented. Undocumented allocation is carried out within the framework of the ‘first come, first served’ rule. This rule is applied to domain names with the most commonly used extensions such as ‘.com.tr’, ‘.org.tr’… »

An In-depth Analysis of Inventorship of AI and Turkey’s Position

In recent legal debates, the patentability of AI-generated inventions has been contentious. Historically, only humans have been considered inventors, anchored in notions of personhood and intellect. Yet, in a bold move, South Africa and Australia’s Federal Court recognized AI, specifically DABUS, as a potential inventor in 2021, defying conventional views. Proponents argue that this accommodates modern innovation trends, while sceptics raise concerns about ownership rights… »

PTO Prepares for Administrative Revocation of Trademarks

Article 26 of the Industrial Property Code, which grants the PTO the authority to revoke trademarks, will come into force on 10 January 2024 The PTO has recently released a draft regulation for comment The draft regulation includes procedural details on how revocation requests will be made before the PTO Background The Industrial Property Code No 6769 (IP Code), which entered into force on 10 January 2017, provides that the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has… »

Highly Logical: Turkish IP Office's Vulcan Salute Ruling Sets Final Frontier For Copyright Ownership Argument

According to Article 6/6 of the Turkish Industrial Property Code, “An application for registration of a trademark shall be refused upon the opposition of the right holder if it consists of a person’s name, trade name, photography, copyright or any other intellectual property right of another.” Based on this provision, it is possible to oppose an application relying upon the opponent’s other intellectual property rights ownership. On December 20 2022, the Re-Examination and… »

A Glance at the Concept of Plagiarism

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Although plagiarism is not clearly defined in Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (LIAW), it is one of the most common acts of infringement. Plagiarism, which is defined as “pilferage” by the Turkish Language Association under the law on intellectual and artistic works, is used to “present someone else’s work as your own, taking a piece from someone else’s work without citing the source”. While there is no definition for plagiarism, “Freedom of quotation” is… »

Recent Developments Within The Turkish Patent And Trademark Office

Service by publication has come into effect Turkish Patent and Trademark Office put discussions over well-known trade mark registry on its agenda Turkish Patent and Trademark Office’s official website was updated Service by publication has come into effect Notification procedure was a significant issue at the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (Office) since it not only causes delays in the application processes but also affects the IP right holders using their rights.… »

Liability of the Hosting Providers for Copyright Infringement

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One of the most violated rights on the internet is copyright, and nowadays, works such as music, movies and cartoons are published by third parties on various websites, social media accounts, video watching and file-sharing platforms without the owners’ permission. In fact, recently, the unauthorised sharing of cartoons by famous cartoonists on specific internet sites and the legal actions initiated by the authors of these works have created quite a stir; and the issue of… »

Compensation Liability for Copyright Infringement

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The author or the owner of a work is entitled to claim compensation in the case of violation of economic and moral rights arising from the ownership of the work protected under Law No. 5846, the Intellectual and Artistic Works (the “LIAW”), in addition to other legal remedies.  Article 70 of the LIAW regulates compensation that may be claimed based on violation of economic and moral rights, separately. Accordingly, the author whose moral rights have been infringed, is… »

Ownership of the On-Demand Works

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The General Assembly of the Civil Court of Cassation (GACoC) made important determinations with its decision dated 16.01.2020 and numbered E. 2019 / 11-474, K. 2020/26, concerning the scope of the ordering party’s use of the work created within on-demand work agreements, and whether a separate contract is required for the transfer of the economic rights of the author in terms of related uses. In this case, the plaintiff was working as the purchasing manager in the defendant… »

Dilemma Over Well-Known Trademark Registry Continues in Turkey

We have previously reported on the Turkish Court of Cassation’s decision concluding that the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office has no authority to create and maintain a registry for well-known trademarks and discussed the possible repercussions of this decision for trademark owners (Well-known Trademark Registry Is Again Open for Debate). In this article we will examine how practice has been shaped in the light of this decision, offer tips for brand owners during this… »