In a very recent decision, the Re-examination and Evaluation Board (“Board”) of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“Office”) has accepted that third party attempt to feminize the Johnnie Walker striding man logo and register the same to use it in fashion and textile sector may cause serial mark impression, and dilute the striding man logo and harm the distinctiveness and reputation of the same, even though it is only registered and well-known for alcoholic…
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On March 28, Turkey’s Information Technologies and Communication Authority, the Bilgi Teknolojileri ve İletişim Kurumu, published its decision(dated Feb. 12, 2019) on remote programmable e-SIM technologies imposing localization requirements on e-SIM technologies and prohibition of permanent roaming is once again clarified. The decision also refers to the previous decision of the BTK regarding e-call systems (dated Jan. 22, 2018).
In its previous decision, the BTK indicated…
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Introduction
When the new Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) was enacted in 2011, it introduced a new case type to Turkish litigation where plaintiffs file an action for receivables for an unquantified amount that is left to the courts to determine subject to dispute. When filing such actions, plaintiffs:
state the amount of determinable receivables as the minimum amount subject to dispute;
pay a case fee based on this amount; and
extend their claim to the amount calculated by…
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On April 2, 2019, the European Union (“EU”) requested a consultation before the World Trade Organisation (‘WTO’) regarding measures adopted by Turkey in relation to the production, importation and marketing of pharmaceutical products, which are claimed to be non-compliant with international agreements.
Background
Following the announcement of the Structural Transformation Programme Action Plan for Healthcare Industries by the Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on November 7…
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Nowadays, Turkish real persons and/or legal entities may have a tendency to choose foreign law as applicable law to their contracts. There could be several reasons for such tendency. In particular, contracting legal entities’ being members of global group companies and certain contracts’ being drafted earlier as template in line with the policy of such group lead to choice of foreign law. Likewise, there could be cases where the chosen foreign law is deemed by the contracting…
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FICPI – TURKEY arranged its fifth roundtable meeting on how goods/services similarity concept is interpreted in the doctrine of trademark law and also by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“Office”) and the Courts and how the foreign courts and trademark offices practise on this matter. Ms. Yasemin Kenaroğlu, who is a member the Board of Directors of FICPI – TURKEY, moderated the meeting accompanied by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Paslı. 24 participants were present at the…
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Non-traditional trademarks refer to marks which are not traditionally perceived as trademarks. Some examples are colour, sound, motion, position and 3D views of products etc.
Non-traditional trademarks are not specifically described in the Turkish Industrial Property Code (the IP Code) which came into force on January 10 2017 in Turkey. Since there is no special provision in the code regarding the registration of non-traditional trademarks, the principles pertaining to the…
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The supply of pharmaceutical products to Turkey via the named patient programme (NPP) is one of the exceptional importation regimes for pharmaceutical products. Where a pharmaceutical product is not granted marketing authorisation in Turkey but patients are in need of it, it can be supplied via this special route. The entities that are authorised to import pharmaceuticals from abroad within the scope of the NPP are the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association (TEB) and the Ibn-i Sina…
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Discovery of evidence and actions for determination of evidence are separately regulated under the rocedural Law. Discovery of evidence is a preliminary step taken before any action on merits and it only serves to discover and record the evidence that may be relevant to an ongoing or future action on merits.
It must be emphasised that there is no full and frank disclosure procedure under the Turkish civil law system unlike the US and UK systems. In other words, the parties…
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Yalçın Umut Talay and Fatma Sevde Tan, Gun + Partners
On 3 April 2019, an amendment (Turkish language) to the Communiqué on the Permit to be obtained by Public Institutions for Imports numbered 2018/2 (Turkish language) was published in the Official Gazette. The Communiqué regulates how public entities obtain a permit from the Ministry of Trade to import goods that are not exempt from customs duty.
The Communiqué establishes three kinds of goods:
· Goods that require…
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Dicle Doğan and Fatma Sevde Tan, Gun + Partners
In a letter dated 2 April 2019 to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the EU’s Permanent Mission to the WTO has requested consultations with the government of Turkey in relation to measures that it has introduced to regulate the production, importation and marketing of pharmaceutical products in Turkey.
In its request, the EU claims that the “competitive opportunities” of pharmaceutical products imported to Turkey are…
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Q: What options are open to a patent owner seeking to enforce its rights in your jurisdiction?
Article 149 of the Industrial Property Code 6769 (IP Code) sets the legal framework for claims that can be asserted by the rights holder and the scope of the injunctions that can be granted by the court.
Accordingly, a person can request the court to:
determine whether the third party infringes the patent;
decide on the prevention of the infringement;
decide to stop the action that…
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