Region: 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.

29 March 2023

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.

25 January 2023

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.

14 December 2022

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.

28 September 2022

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.

24 August 2022

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.

10 August 2022

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.

30 March 2022

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.

26 January 2022

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.

19 January 2022

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.

12 January 2022