The IP Court found that there was a likelihood of confusion between a figurative mark containing the words ‘Ankara çikolata peanut & caramel’ and earlier SNICKERS marks
The Regional Court of Appeals agreed, and the Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal
The well-known status of the opponent’s marks in the food sector enhanced the likelihood of confusion between the marks
A recent IP Court decision has highlighted the impact of conceptual similarity and well-known…
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The long-awaited Guidelines on Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Data (“Guidelines”), prepared to serve as a guiding document regarding the cross-border data transfers under the Personal Data Protection Law (“Law”), was published on the website of the Personal Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) on January 2, 2025.
With the amendments made in the Law effective as of June 1, 2024, along with a three-month transition period, and the publication of the Regulation on the Procedures…
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The owner of the marks BATIKAR and BATISOL in Class 5 sued the defendant for selling antiseptic disinfectants under the mark MIRADERM BATIMER
While the IP Court ruled in favour of the defendant, the Regional Court – and subsequently the Court of Cassation – found that the shared element ‘bati’ created a likelihood of confusion
Arguably, the courts did not take into account the specifics of the relevant sector and the global appreciation principle in the examination of…
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The intersection between competition and data privacy has emerged in recent years. Questions have arisen globally about whether processing of consumers’ (personal) data constitute a competition issue, and, how authorities and capabilities between the two approaches can be managed and cooperate.
Meta In the Origin of Investigations
On December 5, 2024, the investigation into Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”) in Turkiye has been concluded following the acceptance of the…
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The Constitutional Court’s decision dated 14 March 2024 and numbered 2023/160 E., 2023/160 E., 2024/77 K. annulled Article 18/A of the Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes (“Mediation Law”). The annulled provision imposed a sanction on parties causing the mediation to end due to their failure to attend the first mediation meeting without a valid excuse, holding them liable for all litigation costs and attorney fees, even if they were partially or fully justified in the…
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The 12th Development Plan 2024–2028 (“Development Plan”) and the 2025 Presidential Annual Program (“Program”) set the development goals and strategic policies for various sectors in Türkiye.
In line with the Development Plan and Program, the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors are among those that emphasize key goals to increase Türkiye’s sustainability in the healthcare field, enhance domestic production capacity, and reduce dependency on imports. Overall, the aim is…
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The principle of sustainability initially emerged as a corporate social responsibility notion under the management activities of companies and then, brought along the necessity for companies to act ethically and responsibly towards their stakeholders. The elements of environmental, social and economic sustainability are collectively at the core of corporate social responsibility and this concept is based on the responsibility of companies towards society.
It is observed that…
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Evaluating Disparaging Practices against Competitors in the Pharmaceutical Sector: A Competition Law Perspective
The competition investigation initiated by the European Commission (the “Commission”) against Vifor Pharma on June 20, 2022, has attracted attention due to the fact that this is the first investigation in which the act of disparaging competitors will be considered as a violation of competition law alone. Competition investigations launched against pharmaceutical…
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The World Health Organization (WHO) gives pharmaceutical substances international non-proprietary names (INNs) so that each substance can be identified by a distinct name. However, pharmaceutical trade marks cannot be composed entirely of INNs.
The rulings of the Court of Cassation (the CoC) indicate that while pharmaceutical trade marks can be derived from INNs, they cannot consist solely of these names.
For instance, an action was filed claiming that the defendant’s trade…
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Article 10 grants trademark owners the right to request the transfer of a trademark in case of unfair registration in the name of a commercial agent and/or representative
The provision offers an underestimated and rarely applied tool for genuine trademark owners
A recent Court of Cassation decision involving the marks HOLLIS and OCEANIC highlights the significance of this provision
Relevant rule of law
Article 10 of the Industrial Property Code (“the IP Code”) reads as…
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The well-known trademark registry of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (the Office) became a discussion topic after the Turkish Court of Cassation decided in 2020 that the Office has no authority to create and maintain a registry for well-known trademarks (see Turkey: Well-known trademark registry is again open for debate).
First-instance intellectual property courts and regional courts of appeals adopted this decision immediately and changed their practice, whereas…
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Influencer marketing through social media influencers has achieved giant growth in the advertising sector. Brands, including global and local ones, co-operate with social media influencers to advertise their brands, goods and services because social media influencers are very capable of directing the consumers’ buying habits into certain brands via the presentations, recommendations and compliments they make.
Similarly, based on global research statistics, Türkiye ranks…
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