As previously discussed in articles such as The Unified Patent Court: How Will It Affect Turkey? by Gün + Partners, decisions of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) on the infringement or validity of a European patent are not binding on the national courts of non-EU countries, including the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, and Türkiye. This reflects the principle of territoriality, which limits the jurisdiction of international courts to their member states. Although these…
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The threshold values to be used in determining whether companies will be subject to independent audit under the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (the “TCC”) for financial year starting on or after January 1st 2025 have been updated with the Presidential Decree published in the Official Gazette dated May 1st 2025 and numbered 32887.
Accordingly, the general thresholds for being subject to independent audit for companies other than those specifically listed in the annex of the…
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ABSTRACT
Bad faith in EU trademark law is regulated under the EU Trademark Regulation and related directives. According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, bad faith is an autonomous concept of EU law and must be interpreted uniformly across the Union. Although various legislative efforts continue within the EU harmonization framework, amendments to the regulations and directives alone do not ensure consistent and predictable decisions by national trademark offices…
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ABSTRACT
In Turkish and European Union competition law practices, competition authorities are vested with various powers aimed at protecting competition, by investigating, inquiring, detecting, and terminating competition infringements. The scope and extent of these powers have been the subject of numerous debates and legal cases. Most recently, the Turkish Constitutional Court’s decision issued on 23/3/2023, which ruled that the Turkish Competition Authority’s power to…
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While copyright protection grants authors the exclusive right to exploit their creations, this protection is not indefinite. At the end of the term determined by the legislation of each country, the financial rights granted to the author expire and the work enters the public domain. The public domain process ensures that works become part of the collective heritage and thus continue to freely evolve and live on for generations. In this way, numerous masterpieces, from world…
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ELECTRIC PLAYGROUND was found descriptive and devoid of distinctiveness in Türkiye, but was registered as a trademark for the same services in the US
The approach adopted by the Turkish IP Office and courts was arguably excessive and disproportionate
The application was refused for sports, culture and entertainment services in Class 41
A recent IP case has evaluated the descriptiveness and distinctive character of English-language word marks with respect to Turkish…
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The processing of personal data is inevitable during the use of artificial intelligence technologies. The processing of personal data in accordance with fundamental principles and the protection of the rights of data subjects and the accurate and adequate response to their requests will essentially minimize the risks of harm to individuals arising from the processing of personal data in artificial intelligence technologies and serve to protect their personal rights at all…
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An employee who claims to have worked overtime and demands overtime pay from the employer bears the burden of proving this claim. At this point, the employee may rely on written evidence such as workplace records, documents indicating entry to and exit from the workplace, and internal workplace correspondence. However, if an employee is unable to prove the overtime work through such written evidence, the employee may also substantiate her/his claims through witness testimony.…
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On March 27, 2025, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (“Agency”), issued an announcement regarding the first application procedures for the pricing of authorized pharmaceuticals subject to alternative reimbursement models.
As per the provisions outlined in the legal framework for the pricing of medicinal products, the Decision on the Pricing of Medicinal Products for Human Use numbered 2017/9901 (“Decision”), and the Communiqué on the Pricing of Medicinal…
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Music is a universal form of expression that transcends cultures, languages, and generations. From ancient times to today’s digital platforms, music has always served as a powerful carrier of emotions, thoughts, and collective memory. The creation of this powerful form of expression involves the creative efforts of many individuals—ranging from lyricists and composers to performers and sound engineers—and this effort is recognized and protected by means of copyrights.
In…
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As of September 14, 2022, disputes concerning domain names with the ccTLD for Türkiye – “.tr” – are resolved under the TRABİS (“TR Domain Name Information System”) framework by accredited Dispute Resolution Service Providers (“DRS Provider”). This new system aims to resolve domain name ownership and use disputes more effectively. A notable recent development in this new system and process emerged when a DRS Provider’s decision was brought before the courts.
Alternative…
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The Advertisement Board (“Board”) closely monitored dark patterns on online user interfaces that facilitate consumers to enter into subscription agreements, and which might deceive, coerce, manipulate consumers into making choices that may not be in their best interests. Dark patterns are broadly considered deceptive commercial practices under the Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices Regulation which defines “The use of guiding interface designs, options, or…
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