Litigation and Mediation

Some intellectual property disputes can be resolved through negotiation and mediation without litigation; those that cannot are heard by specialised courts under their own rules. We manage pre-litigation mediation and settlement, conduct actions to prevent and stop infringement, for material and moral damages and for invalidation, and pursue criminal proceedings for trade mark and copyright infringements.

What is an intellectual property action?

Intellectual property actions arise from infringements of trade marks, patents, designs and copyright, or from the validity of these rights. The right holder can seek a declaration of infringement, its prevention and cessation and the removal of its effects, as well as material and moral damages. These cases are heard by the specialised intellectual and industrial property courts where they exist, and by the civil courts of first instance elsewhere.

For calculating material damages, the Industrial Property Law gives the right holder a choice: the profit the right holder lost, the profit the infringer made, or the reasonable licence fee that would have been paid under a licence agreement. The Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works allows damages of up to three times the fee that would have been paid had an agreement been made for the unauthorised use.

What is an invalidation action?

An invalidation action is brought to have a registered trade mark, patent or design removed from the register on the ground that it does not meet the conditions for registration. For example, a trade mark registered in bad faith, or one so similar to an earlier mark that it would cause confusion, can be cancelled this way. Revocation for non-use, by contrast, is requested not by an action but, since 2024, by an application to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

Scope

• Managing pre-litigation mediation and other settlement routes
• Conducting actions for the removal and prevention of infringement and for moral and material damages concerning intellectual property and trade mark rights
• Conducting trade mark invalidation actions
• Filing criminal complaints for trade mark and copyright infringements and personally following the investigation and prosecution

How We Work

1. Assessing ownership, the infringement and the evidence
2. Trying out-of-court solutions through a cease-and-desist letter and negotiation
3. Taking evidence preservation and preliminary injunction steps where necessary
4. Running the civil action and any criminal proceedings together
5. Following the expert examination, the judgment and the appeal stages