07 FEBRUARY 2024
Turkish court hands down precedential decision on partial preliminary injunctions in pharma dispute
Ruling on the condition of plausible proof, the Ankara IP Court has clarified that an injunction can be granted in a way that prevents damages for both parties. This is especially crucial for cases in which the infringing product is put on the market without waiting for an expert report.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas, Zeynep Çağla Üstün and Beste Turan
10 JANUARY 2024
Court takes firm stance on concretising action in invalidation claims
The Istanbul Anatolian IP Court has decided that a recent invalidation action should be deemed not filed in accordance with Article 119 of the Code of Civil Procedure. This ruling is crucial to preventing future malicious invalidation actions that put the burden of concretising the case on the court.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas, Zeynep Çağla Üstün and Aysu Eryaşar
04 OCTOBER 2023
AI inventorship open for debate in Turkey amid global DABUS rulings
As there is no AI regulation or precedent yet in Turkey, the question of AI inventorship is a key point of contention. Some argue that AI should be considered a legal entity, while others argue that the country follow Roman law principles.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
14 JUNE 2023
European patent owners must publish Turkish translation of claims to claim compensation
A fresh case analysis sheds light on the need for European patent owners to publish the Turkish translation of the claims in order to claim compensation for damages suffered over a certain time period, without waiting for the EPO to grant or reject the application.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Aysu Eryaşar
29 MARCH 2023
How the UPC will likely affect invalidation proceedings in Turkey
While Turkey is not a UPC member state, the UPC’s lack of case law means that it will rely on EPO jurisprudence – a crucial element of Turkish judicial proceedings. It is thus highly likely that UPC proceedings and EPO evaluations will have a big impact on one another.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas, Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, Aysu Eryaşar and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
25 JANUARY 2023
What the plausibility requirement means for Turkish IP law
The heavily debated concept of plausibility is quickly gaining prominence in invalidity proceedings. While it remains to be seen how the EPO will cement the concept into case law, several key existing cases present a number of conflicting arguments on the issue.
Authors:
Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, Selin Sinem Erciyas and Aysu Eryaşar
14 DECEMBER 2022
The dangers of basing preliminary injunctions on determination of evidence
Pharmaceutical patent holders have the unenviable task of providing evidence before IP courts to prove infringement to obtain a preliminary injunction decision to prevent launch of the infringing product to the market. Unfortunately, disparities in Turkish courts’ approaches to requests for determination of evidence are making a challenging job even harder.
Authors:
Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, Selin Sinem Erciyas and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
28 SEPTEMBER 2022
Why compulsory licensing is a blunt instrument in the post-covid landscape
Turkey’s recent compulsory licence decision shines a light on the questionable use of compulsory licence provisions around the world in relation to the pandemic. The creation of the covid vaccine has sparked discussions on IP rights and where the real regulatory focus should be.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas
24 AUGUST 2022
General Assembly of the Court of Appeal reaches milestone decision on patentability of second medical use claims
In ruling on the patentability of second/further medical use patents in Turkey, the court has brought to a close years of debate on the validity of second medical use patents granted by the EPO before the EPC 2000 amendments.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın
10 AUGUST 2022
Bolar-like hurdle for generics
The judgment of the Ankara IP court in a case involving a marketing authorisation application demonstrates that an exemption similar to the so-called Bolar exemption can apply to Gx pharmaceutical companies.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
30 MARCH 2022
A fairer way to determine royalties in Turkish compulsory licensing
If compulsory licensing is used in Turkey, it is imperative that the individual requirements of each case are considered. This is especially important when it comes to facilitating access to medical treatments for covid-19.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas
26 JANUARY 2022
Istanbul IP Court reaches landmark decision on precautionary injunction
The IP Court’s most recent ruling emphasises the importance of granting a precautionary injunction before the release of a Gx product, to prevent incurable price cuts against pharmaceutical patents.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
19 JANUARY 2022
Turkish court issues preliminary injunction to prevent infringement of pharmaceutical products
Currently, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency does not investigate whether drugs supplied from abroad infringe patent rights. However, a recent case provides useful guidance for the steps to be taken, where such infringement occurs.
Authors:
Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın and Fatma Sevde Tan
12 JANUARY 2022
Vaccine patent rights - a scapegoat for inequality?
The unequal dissemination of covid-19 vaccines remains controversial, yet while a proposed IP rights waiver might enhance global access to affordable vaccines, it remains unlikely that it would provide a solution to the unequal rollout.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
03 NOVEMBER 2021
District court sets valuable precedent on preliminary injunction requests
A district court has gone against the growing practice of rejecting preliminary injunction requests in patent disputes. While the reasoning is that injunctions require a full trial yet, courts have taken to rejecting requests for them without setting a trial date or carrying out any of the relevant examination and evaluation.
Authors:
Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın and Aysu Eryaşar
13 OCTOBER 2021
Warning letters may be more trouble than they are worth: a cautionary tale
While sending a warning letter to perceived infringers is not a pre-condition to enforcing patent rights under Turkish law, it can be a cost-effective and swift way to resolve disputes. However, brand owners should be aware of the potential negative consequences before putting pen to paper.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Maral Büyükkürkçü
22 SEPTEMBER 2021
Should a lawyer follow the judge’s misdirection?
Judges and lawyers should always act in accordance with the rule of law, as highlighted in a recent preliminary injunction decision involving a disputed patent, where a judge made a momentary mistake and provided incorrect guidance.
Authors:
Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın and Aysu Eryaşar
12 MAY 2021
Are clinical trials excluded from patent protection in Turkey?
Under Turkish case law, clinical trials come under the scope of experimental use of an invention. However, there is a lack of clarity over whether this means that clinical trials of patentable products can be protected by patents.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
14 APRIL 2021
IP court issues preliminary injunction against drug in Turkey’s named patient programme
The IP court has granted a preliminary injunction to remove a pharmaceutical product from the Foreign Drug List of the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency. The drug was found to contain an active ingredient that was covered by a company’s patent. This case highlights the fact that the Bolar exemption does not apply to drugs that are part of Turkey’s named patient programme.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Aysu Eryaşar
20 JANUARY 2021
First precautionary injunction granted in Turkey to prevent indirect use of a drug patent
The Istanbul IP Court has handed down its first precautionary injunction for indirect use of a patent. The case, which involves a combination drug patent, sheds much-needed light on Article 86 of the Turkish IP Code.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
16 DECEMBER 2020
New IP court ruling sets precedent for the EPC’s application in Turkey
The European Patent Convention 138/3 prohibits hurried revocations of European patents at a national level. While Turkish courts previously refused to implement the convention, it looks as if the tide may be turning.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas, Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın and Aysu Eryaşar
18 NOVEMBER 2020
New Code of Civil Procedure extends deadlines in patent litigation
While amendments to Article 281 of the Code of Civil Procedure have been broadly welcomed for offering extensions for the submission of statements that challenge expert reports in patent litigation, many are questioning whether they go far enough.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas, Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın and Aysu Eryaşar
08 JULY 2020
Discovery of evidence and preliminary injunction demands during covid-19
Despite accepting the discovery of evidence demand made by an originator company against a generic pharmaceutical company after an expert panel confirmed that patent infringement had occurred, a Turkish IP court has rejected the originator’s request for a preliminary injunction on the grounds of the ‘Bolar’ exemption – sending conflicting messages to rights holders.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
22 APRIL 2020
Understanding indirect infringement in Turkish IP practice
Turkish IP law does not explicitly define ‘indirect infringement’, although legislators refer to Article 86 of the Industrial Property Code. A recent case, in which a generic company filed a determination of non-infringement action against an originator company, is the first example of an interpretation of Article 86 for second medical-use claims in Turkish IP practice.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın
08 APRIL 2020
Questionable approach of Turkish IP courts in assessing Bolar exemption
Article 85(3) (c) of the Industrial Property Law excludes marketing authorisation applications from the scope of patent rights. However, the IP courts’ interpretation of this has been disproportionately weighted against patent holders.
Authors:
Özge Atılgan Karakulak and Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın
18 MARCH 2020
Is a minor difference from a patented range enough to win an infringement case?
Recent cases demonstrate that the Turkish IP court’s approach to products that possess a minor difference from the range claimed in a patent is rather rigid and it appears reluctant to consider prosecuting allegedly infringing products based on formula deviations.
Authors:
Selin Sinem Erciyas and Zeynep Çağla Üstün
06 NOVEMBER 2019
Reverting a non-examined patent to an examined patent during court proceedings
A recent case involving two automotive companies has highlighted that third parties that file patent invalidation actions against a non-examined patent should be prepared for a possible request for conversion by the patent owner.
Authors:
Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın and Maral Sayan
