Intellectual Property (IP) rights are intangible assets that are either the creations of minds or are chosen or created in the form of distinctive signs. Among IP rights, trademarks and copyrights stand out as the most important and relevant for use by law firms. Trademarks form the legal basis for protecting a law firm’s brand, while copyrights form the legal basis for protecting its knowledge. Trademarks provide an exclusive ownership and protection perpetually as long as…
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Associations between the U.S. and Turkey started in 1947 when the U.S. Congress designated Turkey as a recipient of economic and military assistance intended to help the U.S. resist threats from the Soviet Union. From a historical point of view, relations between Turkey and the U.S. have been multidimensional and based upon mutual respect and interest. Currently Turkey and the U.S. cooperate across a broad geography, covering Iraq, the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans…
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Mehmet Gün, senior partner at Gün + Partners, examines the difficulties facing the Turkish judiciary and how essential a first-class justice system is to Turkey’s progress
In the 1980s, Turkey undertook significant liberalisation of its national economy. Since then, liberalisation has increasingly become a pivotal part of the international economy. Between the 1980s and 2000, Turkey learnt some very important lessons in the form of economic crises and was saved by…
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Since significant liberalisation of its national economy in the 1980s, Turkey, has become a pivotal part of the international economy and weathered the economic crises between the 1980s and 2000. Turkey’s exports continue to break records, while trade deficit levels continue to drop. Commensurate with her unique strategic position, Turkey is busy enhancing her international diplomatic, economic and cultural relations, unleashing enormous opportunities, not only for the…
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Following an application for the annulment of Article 42/1(c) of Decree-Law 556 on the ground of unconstitutionality, referred by the Fourth IP Court of Istanbul, the Turkish Constitutional Court has ordered the annulment of that provision (Decision 2013/147 E 2014/75 K, April 9 2014). The decision of the Constitutional Court entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette No 29070 on July 24 2014.Article 42/1(c) of Decree-Law 556 reads as follows:
“A…
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§11.01 INTRODUCTION
Intellectual property rights (IPRs (IPR in the singular meaning)) have become the most valuable assets in the modern times of the global economy. The strength and financial importance of IPRs has also been well recognized in Turkey since 1995, the year of ‘Turkish IPR revolution’; the Turkish legal system relating to IPRs was amended to ensure conformity with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)1 and other…
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Introduction
In March 2013 a new Electricity Market Law was enacted, with the aim of improving energy regulation and attracting greater investment in the electricity market. One of the highlights was the introduction of EPIAS, the new energy market operating company, which would establish and operate an electricity stock exchange, among other activities.
EPIAS was initially planned to commence operations in October 2013, but it took longer than expected to lay the groundwork…
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E-health services are proving increasingly popular; but many questions remain to be answered before their use becomes mainstream, including in relation to their scope, safety and regulation.
Scope and aim
The World Health Organisation has defined ‘e-health’ as the provision of health resources and healthcare through electronic means. The objectives of e-health services are to increase the efficiency of healthcare services by reducing costs and saving time.
In this regard, the…
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Introduction
In February 2014 Minister of Health Mehmet Müezzinoğlu made the following announcement:
“We aim to show the brand value of health in Turkey to the neighbouring region comprising a population of 1 billion; and increase healthcare tourism revenue from $2.5 billion to $10 billion in the next five years. Here we hope to succeed in establishing centres providing healthcare services to the people of our country and to our future by combining intelligence capital…
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The main legislation in Turkey applying to information broadcast and published online is the Law numbered 5651 on the Regulation of Broadcasts and Publications Made Online and Regarding the Countering of Crimes Committed via These Broadcasts and Publications (Internet Publication Law) which came into effect upon publication on May 23, 2007. The Internet Publication Law introduced procedures for applying blocking orders to Internet Web sites that included content that…
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Turkey adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization’s(WI PO) international registration system in 1999. Ugur Aktekin and Pinar Arikan in Istanbul examine the successes and failures of the sys-tem since its implementation 15 years ago.
Historically, the protection of trademark rights has been dependent upon territorial registration. International brands and businesses have obliged to protect their trademark rights on an individual country- by-country basis, registering…
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The Turkish Court of Appeals has reiterated its established precedent that the examination of confusing similarity must take into account the overall impression conveyed by the trademarks to the relevant public.
In December 2007 Ital Food Industry AD filed a trademark application with the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) for the sign reproduced below in Class 30 of the Nice Classification. The mark consisted of words in both Latin and Cyrillic characters.
Turkish company Eti…
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