Turkey’s first official diagnosis of COVID-19, which is considered to have begun in China’s Whuan city in December 2019 and which has spread to millions worldwide in the following months, was announced on 11 March 2020. Following the first case reported in Turkey and basically due to sudden increase in the demand for products such as masks, disinfectants, detergents; a direct increase has also been observed in the supply of counterfeit products to the market, which are…
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In a case involving several MESA marks, the Court of Appeal has confirmed that the plaintiff had lost its right to claim trademark infringement due to its silence
The court applied this principle even though the defendant had not clearly raised it as a defence
The case highlights that loss of right to sue due to silence is an important tool for defendants in trademark infringement/invalidation actions
Background
The plaintiff, acting as the owner of the trademark MESA and…
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Due to COVID-19 pandemic, precautions needed to be taken in the field of clinical trials where it is requisite to ensure the protection of the rights, safety and wellbeing of trial participants.
In this regard, European Medicines Agency published Guidance on the Management of Clinical Trials during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic on 20 March 2020 and released revised Version 2 on 27 March 2020 and recently updated Version 3 (“EMA Guidance”) on 30 April 2020.
The EMA…
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In accordance with general precautions established by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency published new arrangements in March 2020 on promotional activities concerning medicines to encourage social isolation.
On 19 March, the Agency published an announcement (Turkish language) indicating that product promotion representatives of the pharmaceutical companies must cease visiting health institutions and establishments…
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On 20 March 2020, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency published an announcement (Turkish language) on precautions to be taken in clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement states that sponsors of clinical trials should continuously assess risk and update their research organisations accordingly. This risk assessment should take into account the COVID-19-related priorities, reduce the burden of research centres and follow social isolation…
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TURKPATENT found that there was no likelihood of confusion between AFİYETLE DİYET and AFİYET
The IP Court, the District Court and Court of Appeal disagreed, concluding that there was a likelihood of confusion
The case shows that there is no established approach to weak trademarks
Background
In 2014 the defendant applied to register the trademark AFİYETLE DİYET (which may be translated as ‘diet with health, appetite’) in Classes 5, 9, 29, 30, 31 and 32.
The plaintiff, the…
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I. PRE-FILING REQUIREMENTS/DEMAND LETTERS
Although it is not mandatory to send a demand letter before instituting proceedings in this jurisdiction, it is common to send such a letter.
Although it is not mandatory to attempt to settle with the other party before instituting proceedings in this jurisdiction, it is commonly done.
It is neither mandatory nor common to engage in mediation or other alternative dispute resolution proceeding with the other party before…
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1. Are there specific measures taken at the courthouses due to COVID-19?
YES. The courthouses across the country are open and active – yet;
As per the decisions of the Directorate of Administrative Affairs of the Presidency, the public employees – which covers judges, prosecutors and further courthouse personnel - who are pregnant, taking breastfeeding leave, disabled, over 60 years old (except managers), or those having a chronic disease, will be deemed on administrative…
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Introduction
On 17 April 2020 the Law on Minimising the Impacts of the New Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak on Economic and Social Life and the Amendment of Certain Laws (7244) (the Amendment Law) was published in the Official Gazette (31102) and entered into force.
The most significant amendments introduced to the Labour Act, the Act on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements and the Unemployment Insurance Act include:
the prohibition on employers terminating…
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In a recent decision dated February 11, 2020 and numbered 2019/9931 the Advertisement Board, held that promotions of a food company for its potato chips with accompanied free ice tea coupons are compliant with Advertising Regulation. Hence Advertisement Board imposed no sanction against these promotions.
This is an important and exemplary decision for evaluating the Advertisement Board’s approach in terms of implementation of Article 24/A (3) of the Regulation on Commercial…
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Turkish IP law does not explicitly define ‘indirect infringement’. However, legislators refer to Article 86 of the Industrial Property Code, which clarifies a patent holder’s right to prevent third parties from supplying the essential means of the invention (ie, that which serves the working of the patented invention) to unauthorised parties. In order for this provision to apply, third parties must be aware that these elements or instruments are sufficient to implement the…
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1. General Overlook
Measures and restrictions being gradually introduced by the government against the COVID-19 outbreak, which was announced as a pandemic by the World Health Organization and diagnosed for the first time in Turkey on 11 March 2020, aim to protect public health while sustaining employment, production and supply chains.
Restrictions, which were first imposed on flights to China in February, were introduced for flights to another 71 countries in March.[1] These…
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