Out-of-Court Protection

Not every infringement requires a lawsuit; a cease-and-desist letter, a domain name dispute complaint, a marketplace notice or a well-designed negotiation can protect your rights much faster. We plan pre-litigation strategy in unfair competition and domain name infringements, use out-of-court protection routes and, where necessary, conduct unfair competition and personality rights actions.

What is unfair competition?

Unfair competition is deceptive conduct, or conduct and commercial practices contrary to good faith, that affect relations between competitors or between suppliers and customers. Creating confusion with another’s products, using another’s work product without permission, denigrating a competitor and making misleading statements are among the forms of unfair competition listed in the Turkish Commercial Code.

Unfair competition rules also give protection where there is no registered right or a registered right has not been infringed. They are therefore often relied on cumulatively, together with claims based on trade mark or copyright.

How are domain name disputes resolved?

If a domain name identical or similar to your mark has been registered in bad faith, alternative dispute resolution can be used without going to court. For international domain names such as .com, a UDRP complaint is filed with WIPO; for .tr domain names, the dispute resolution mechanism under TRABIS is used. These procedures usually conclude faster than court proceedings and can lead to transfer of the domain name.

Scope

• Planning pre-litigation strategy for infringements that may amount to unfair competition, and advising on cumulative claims
• Identifying the protection routes available for websites and domain names
• Using the routes for prohibiting use of a mark and transferring its registration
• Conducting unfair competition actions and actions concerning personality rights
• Preparing cease-and-desist letters and notices to marketplaces and social media platforms

How We Work

1. Assessing the infringement and which right can be relied on: trade mark, copyright, unfair competition or personality rights
2. Choosing the fastest and most effective route: a letter, a platform notice, a domain name complaint or litigation
3. Preparing the complaint or letter together with the evidence
4. Following the process and negotiating with the other side
5. If this does not work, moving to litigation and injunctions