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

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What Is Non-Fungible Token (NFT) and What Is Not?

Non-Fungible Token (NFT), which we have heard about more often since the beginning of 2021, is a digital asset that uses blockchain technology and primarily operates within Ethereum. NFT is a digital token that cannot be exchanged or replaced and may represent many tangible objects in the real world, such as songs, artworks, GIFs, virtual game items, videos, and cartoons. NFT is technically not the work itself, whereas it is a metadata file that contains the unique… »

Making Payments in Turkish Lira in Movable Sale Contracts Has Become Mandatory

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Former Regulations Concerning FX Prohibition The Presidential Executive Decree numbered 85 and dated 12 September 2018 (the “Decree”) prohibits the private and public residents in Turkey from agreeing their payment obligations in or indexed to foreign currencies in contracts between them concerning sale and purchase of movable and immovable, all kinds of lease and rentals of movables or immovable including vehicle leases and financial leases, employment, service and… »

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… »

The Advertisement Board Now Has the Authority to Block Access to the Online Content Violating the Advertising Rules

The Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 has been amended by the Law No. 7392 which was published in the Official Gazette on 01.04.2022. The amendments introduced into the Consumer Protection Law include wide range of major changes regarding commercial advertisements, the sanctions to be applied by Advertisement Board, distance sales contracts, e-commerce, refurbished and re-sold products, authorized service and special services within the scope of after-sales services. As per… »

Recent Developments on Using Personal Data Unlawfully Collected as Evidence

According to Article 38 of the Turkish Constitution, findings that are acquired unlawfully cannot be used as evidence. In this respect, using personal data as evidence in disputes requires a legal assessment on whether the personal data is collected lawfully or not. In principle, evidence that are obtained unlawfully shall not be allowed in legal proceedings. As known, the main legislation related to protection of personal data is the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law No.… »

Does Technical Function Impede Copyright?

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The question of whether appearance features of utilitarian objects with technical functions can benefit from copyright protection has become a debated issue in recent years, and it has also started to find a place in the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In the decision of the CJEU, dated June 11, 2020, and numbered C-833/18, it was evaluated how appearance features of products with technical functions can benefit from copyright protection. The… »

Data Protection Law in General

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On April 7, 2016, a new law on the protection of personal data came into force in Turkey: The Law on the Protection of Personal Data numbered 6698 (“Data Protection Law”). It is the first law of its kind in Turkey, specifically regulating the protection of personal data. The Data Protection Law is a step towards harmonizing Turkish legislation with EU legislation, and it was prepared based on Directive 95/46/EC on data protection (“Data Protection Directive”). The Data… »

Application of the Data Protection Law

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The Data Protection Law applies to data controllers who process and transfer personal data. In the situation where data controllers utilise the services of third-party data processors for these processes, the law holds them jointly liable for taking all of the technical and administrative measures required to ensure the safeguarding of personal data and to prevent any unlawful access or processing. The Data Protection Law does not envisage the scope of its application in… »

Lawful Data Processing

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Processing Personal Data Personal data can be processed based on the below specified legal grounds: If explicit consent of the data subject is obtained; If processing is clearly proposed under the laws; If processing is mandatory for the protection of life, or to prevent the physical injury of a person, in cases where that person cannot express consent, or whose consent is legally invalid due to physical disabilities; If processing is necessary for and directly related to… »

Singapore Convention Entered into Force on 11 April 2022 in Turkey

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The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (“the Singapore Convention”) on 20 December 2018, which was signed by Turkey on 07 August 2019 in Singapore. Turkey enacted the Law No. 7282 dated 25 February 2021[1] concerning the approval of the Singapore Convention, which was followed by the Presidential Decree (3866) dated 21 April 2021[2] concerning its ratification. Finally, with the Presidential… »