Emre Kerim Yardımcı is a highly experienced IP
attorney, respected both locally and internationally. Fluent in English and
French, he complements his international expertise with an extensive network.
Mr Yardımcı’s innovative approach to IP
litigation, complex court proceedings and portfolio management has helped drive
Deriş’s status as a top, forward-thinking IP firm.He has a reputation for
astute strategic legal counsel and is an active panellist for the UDRP and
issued more than 110 decisions. He has also acted as counsel in many domain
name disputes under the UDRP. He speaks at various conferences and is the
author of several articles and publications on trademark and patent
enforcement.Since graduating from the University of Geneva
(with a double major in business management and law), he has deepened his
knowledge of the establishment, licensing, acquisition and use of IP assets in
Turkey and globally. His recent accomplishments include the successful defence
of a leading global chemical producer’s patent registration, as well as
employee invention litigation.Mr Yardımcı is active in trademark, design,
geographical indication and patent enforcement and anti-counterfeiting matters
after having worked in IP application and opposition matters for several years.
He has dealt with a high number of law firms from many countries and has
acquired extensive experience on an international level.Mr Yardımcı participated in the discussions on
the new IP Code before the relevant parliamentary commissions, before the
legislation was enacted.
He is a member of the Turkish National Group of
the Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property, as well as a
member of INTA, MARQUES, the Pharmaceutical Trademarks Group, the French-Swiss
Association for IP Professionals and the French Association of Trademark and
Design Practitioners.
He has been recognised as IP Star by Managing
Intellectual Property and one of the leading individuals by Leaders
League. Practice Areas &amp; Work Department

Intellectual Property

Domain Name 

&nbsp; 

Languages

English

French

&nbsp; 

Memberships

Turkish National Group of the Association
 for the Protection of Intellectual Property

INTA

MARQUES, 

The Pharmaceutical Trademarks Group

The French-Swiss Association for IP
 Professionals

French Association of Trademark and
 Design Practitioners

Deriş Attorney-At-Law Partnership provides
fast, reliable and tailored consulting and legal services to clients looking to
settle disputes relating to trademarks, patents, industrial designs and other
IP and industrial property rights.Based in Istanbul, Deriş has a 110-year
history pertaining to the establishment of IP rights, as well as the protection
and enforcement of such rights.Today, Deriş consists of two legal
entities: Deriş Patents and Trademarks Agency AS, which counsels, files,
prosecutes, registers and manages IP rights worldwide; and Deriş
Attorney-At-Law Partnership, which provides legal counsel, assistance in
contentious and non-contentious matters and representation before the IP, civil
and commercial courts.The team consists of more than 85 with IP
Litigators, European Patent Attorneys, Trademark and Patent Attorneys and the
supporting teams. The Firm is ranked as a top tier IP Law Firm by the
international ranking magazines such as LEGAL500, WTR1000, IAM 1000, IPSTAR,
MANAGING IP.The firm has been awarded and certified as
a Great Place to Work in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. The firm’s key strategy
objective is “Compliance and Benchmarking with Global Standards”. In line with
this strategy, in 2021 the firm’s information security management system
obtained the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification. Deriş has also joined the United
Nations Global Compact initiative, which is a voluntary leadership platform for
the development implementation and disclosure of responsible business practice. PartnersM. N. Aydın Deriş (Founding Partner)N. Serra Coral (Managing Partner)E. Kerim Yardımcı (Senior Partner)Okan Çan (Senior Partner)Oya Yalvaç (Partner)Feride Utku (Partner)Muazzez Korutürk (Partner) IP PracticeDeriş exclusively handles IP, IT and media-related
contentious or non-contentious matters. The partnership adopts an agile and
cost-conscious approach, pragmatically combining and coordinating tailored
solutions in complex matters; this approach involves developing IP awareness
and enforcement strategies;&nbsp;conducting investigations on counterfeits and
evaluating their results;&nbsp;preparing and organising customs seizure of
counterfeit goods;&nbsp;serving cease and desist letters to prevent infringing
acts;&nbsp;conducting negotiations for settlement agreements; and instituting
civil and criminal court actions.
Deriş also has a strong patent litigation and
prosecution team made up of litigators and Turkish and European patent
attorneys.&nbsp;Deriş also has a strong patent litigation
and prosecution team made up of litigators and Turkish and European patent
attorneys.In addition to its thriving litigation
practice, Deriş is also experienced using alternative dispute
resolution&nbsp;before or during litigation. In this respect, the team enjoys
strong connections with the WIPO Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre and
actively participates in arbitration and mediation training. Mr Yardımcı has
been appointed as a panellist and arbitrator before WIPO for Uniform Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy matters. Mr Çan has been appointed as a
chartered mediator with another member of the firm before the Ministry of
Justice in Turkey.Deriş provides the full range of IP
protection services such as drafting, preparing, filing and prosecuting the
application of industrial property rights in Turkey directly and through its
first-rate worldwide collaborators in other countries. As Turkey is a member of
international conventions such as the Madrid Protocol, the Hague Agreement, the
Patent Cooperation Treaty and the European Patent Convention, Deriş files and
prosecutes international trademark, design and patent applications directly
under these conventions.In recognition of the value of IP assets,
Deriş is structured to provide services proactively and to offer clients a
complete range of legal services. Personalised collaboration with clients is
key to the firm’s approach; the team believes in fostering close working relationships
that result in long-term partnerships.With this in mind, Deriş’s approach is
holistic and aims to facilitate business decisions made by acting analytically
and proactively to identify upfront potential sources of conflict; eliminate
legal uncertainty; and understand and assess each and every detail that might
affect the parameters of protection and enforcement. This helps avoid
unnecessary litigation and ensure a trouble-free and uninterrupted operation. Specialties<ul style="list-style-type: square;"><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Intellectual Property</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Trademark Litigation</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Patent Litigation</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Trademark and Patent Prosecution</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Anti-counterfeiting</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Personal Data Protection</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">IP and IT Transactions</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">IP Due Diligence</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Technology Licensing</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Copyright</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Unfair Competition</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Trade Secrets</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Media and Entertainment Law</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Consumer Law</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">IT Law</li><li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">Reputation Management&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>

Deris Attorney-at-Law Partnership

Senior Partner

&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Geographically positioned between Europe and Asia, Turkey is a strategically placed country, with a population of 82 million and a larger youth population than any EU member state. Taking&nbsp;its place on the list of G20 countries, Turkey&nbsp;aims to position itself in the global value chain&nbsp;and strengthen its export platform by focusing on high-tech patents, including electronic machinery and equipment, automotive spare parts, railway and maritime transport, and energy generation and efficiency projects. In addition, as a natural transport hub, Turkey is a transitional trade platform between Europe and Asia, which significantly increases the relevance of appropriate IP rights protection.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">While Turkey is an attractive market in&nbsp;many respects, unfortunately it does have a counterfeiting problem. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the EUIPO study Mapping the Real Routes of Trade in Fake Goods,&nbsp;Turkey appears to be a significant source of counterfeit goods.&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Another report on EU customs enforcement of IP rights mentions Turkey among the top three countries of provenance by value of detained counterfeit goods.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This chapter looks at ways to enforce patents at the Turkish borders in line with the Industrial Property Code (which entered into force on 10 January 2017) and the Custom Act 4458 (which dates back to 1999).&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The IP Code enables the patentee to use&nbsp;legal means harmonised with EU legislation&nbsp;and international agreements (eg, the Paris Convention and the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights). It offers viable tools for patentees to implement an effective and successful patent enforcement capabilities.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Both the IP Code and the Customs Act provide the right to ask for border measures&nbsp;as an effective tool against passing goods infringing patents and other IP rights. Customs is empowered,&nbsp;ex officio&nbsp;or on receipt of a complaint, to suspend the formalities for the release of the goods which are found to be or suspected to be infringing during the routine customs clearance.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>&lt;br>&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Patent Recordal at Customs&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">A customs detention programme can be implemented on the registration of IP rights&nbsp;by the rights holder. Rights holders must file&nbsp;a centralised customs electronic registration application, which has effect for one year. The registration system requires the patent owner to provide the following information:&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;ul style="list-style-type: square;">&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">documents evidencing that the applicant &nbsp;is the genuine rights holder (ie, a&nbsp;registration certificate);&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">a power of attorney;&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">information required to identify&nbsp;genuine products;the country or countries where the genuine&nbsp;products are manufactured;&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">suspected differences between the genuine and&nbsp;infringing products and any other information&nbsp;on the infringing product;&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">an itinerary of the genuine products;&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">the Harmonised System Codes of the genuine&nbsp;products (the codes consist of international codes defining the product for international trade);&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">and&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">information on the licensees in order to enable Customs to prevent any action against the legitimate licensees.&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;/ul>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The recordal of patents is a smooth online process; however, the recording of the patent itself is not sufficient for effective enforcement. The recordal should be supported with documents which will assist Customs to understand:&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;ul style="list-style-type: square;">&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">what the patent really protects:&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">which types of product would infringe the patent;&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">where the product comes from; and&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">which market players are involved in its import.&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;/ul>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The patentee’s intelligence concerning the origin of the product, the possible routes for the flow of the product and potential importers in the local market enables the patentee to share enough of the right information to Customs.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>&lt;br>&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>How the Procedure Works?&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">According to Turkish law, regarding the suspension of the release of an infringing product, Customs grants three days for inspection to determine infringement. During the procedure Customs conducts no test or infringement analysis. Customs is empowered to grant a period of 10 working days to the rights holder to obtain a preliminary injunctive order so as to avoid the product’s release. This period can be extended a further 10 working days under specific circumstances. The technical tests, preparation and filing of a patent infringement action, as well as obtaining a preliminary injunctive order should be obtained within 10 days (or a maximum 20 days if an extension has been granted), which is a relatively short time for instituting a patent litigation. Therefore, the rapid preparation for analysing the infringement is as important as asking for the preliminary injunctive order before the competent court.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Court’s Reaction When Patent Infringing Products Are Seized&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">All conflicts related to patents for invalidity or infringement claims are heard before the specialised IP courts. Turkey has established specialised criminal and civil courts for intellectual and industrial property rights in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir for hearing cases involving all IP matters. The judges are experienced in IP matters but have no technical background in technical patent matters. Therefore, the judges require technical assistance from court-appointed experts specialised in the field.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Civil Procedural Law entitles the patentee to ask for a preliminary injunctive order at 138 any time during the proceedings in case of an imminent threat of serious or irreparable damage. As a quick and effective tool for stopping the infringement, the law rules that injunctive orders must by their nature secure the effectiveness of the verdict so as to render the verdict fully enforceable at the end of the proceedings. However, the IP courts are conservative in ordering injunctive orders in patent disputes and are inclined to evaluate the injunctive orders after an experts’ evaluation. In a customs seizure, the courts are more inclined to order the injunctive order at the outset of the proceedings, without notification to the adverse party, as long as the infringement is prima facie evidenced by the technical analysis conducted by the patentee. The courts can ask for relatively high bonds to secure the defendant’s rights; however, the intention of the courts to prevent the products from circulating trade channels helps to secure the effective implementation of the programme.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Is It Possible to Enforce the Patent Against the Imported and Exported Products?&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The IP Code clearly indicates that suspicious goods subject to trademark protection will be suspended during their export or import. However, the IP Code remains silent regarding the suspension of suspicious goods subject to design and patent rights, whereas the Customs Act enables customs offices to seize goods considered to infringe registered IP rights during their import or export. The Customs Act does IAM Yearbook 2020 not exclude the export of goods subject to a patented invention. As the IP Code is relatively new, there is no current case law on whether the infringing products which are subject to export can also be suspended as per the enforcement at the borders.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Simplified Destruction of Suspended Products&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Suspension of suspicious patented goods is an important tool used to overcome the disadvantages and delays of the court in rendering preliminary injunctions. The Customs Act provides the possibility to claim the simplified destruction procedure at Customs a&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">t the very early stages of proceedings, which if applied can help avoid lengthy patent litigation.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Customs: Best Practice for Enforcing Patents&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In comparison with brand enforcement, Customs has limited ability in patent enforcement; however, the number of patent recordals is beginning to increase. One of the best practices in t&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">his regard has been a patent enforcement project at Customs which has run as a worldwide patent protection programme since 2013 in respect of patented textile dye molecules. Turkey quickly became one of the most successful jurisdictions at implementing such a programme. As a part of its enforcement programme with Customs, the patentee:&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;ul style="list-style-type: square;">&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">conducted training;&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">analysed each of the seized product samples promptly; and&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">took action for each infringing product by initiating court proceedings where there was no settlement.&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;/ul>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">As a result, the firm secured the seizure of more than 100 tons of infringing products in Turkey. Based on this programme, 50 customs suspension notifications have been notified from four customs administrations. The firm has filed 14 court actions for the infringement of its patents and a total of seven nullity actions against its asserted patents have been received as counterattacks, with five of these cases having already been finalised (all in favour of the patentee). The results not only indicate the strength of the firm’s patents, but also the capability of Customs in patent enforcement at the borders.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Comment&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It is recommended that patentees should determine and understand the legal tools required before adopting a patent enforcement strategy. This will enable patentees to use the most appropriate means for resolving conflict, possibly before bringing the matter to the court in order to avoid lengthy and costly patent litigation proceedings. Determining the sector, marketing and distribution conditions of the infringing product, the export and import capacity of the infringer, as well as commercial extensions in other jurisdictions are key areas for building flexible customs strategies against infringement in accordance with the needs and availability of legal procedure.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In theory, the ‘suspension of release’ procedure for patent rights is an important tool to overcome the disadvantages and delays of the court in rendering the preliminary injunctions if it is implemented correctly. In practice, however, the experience of customs staff to understand and be convinced of infringed goods subject to patent rights is a subtle issue and requires ongoing education, training and awareness.&lt;/span>&lt;br>&lt;/p>

Geographically positioned between Europe and Asia, Turkey is a strategically placed country, with a population of 82 million and a larger youth population than any EU member state. Taking its place on the list of G20 countries, Turkey aims to position itself in the global value chain and strengthen its export platform by focusing on high-tech patents, including electronic machinery and equipment, automotive spare parts, railway and maritime transport, and energy generation and efficiency projects. In addition, as a natural transport hub, Turkey is a transitional trade platform between Europe and Asia, which significantly increases the relevance of appropriate IP rights protection.

Lawyers Emre Kerim Yardımcı

Emre Kerim Yardımcı

Patent Enforcement at the Borders