SMEs often manufacture their products abroad in countries where the workforce is cheaper. Foreign contractors offer products specially designed for SMEs or from catalogues. In most cases, entrepreneurs are assured that the foreign contractor possesses all the necessary IP rights to each product. Therefore, it is no surprise that SMEs are often confused when facing allegations of IP infringement. When goods do not bear popular or renowned trademarks, but rather infringe copyrights or figurative [...]

Legislator wants to protect worker's effort and incentivize them to make innovation. In this respect, Turkish Industrial Property Code Law No: 6769 ("IPC") not only secures the employee when an invention created but also protects employer's contribution. IPC categorizes the employees' inventions in to two groups: Service Inventions Independent Inventions According to the description given by the IPC; a service invention is the invention that is created by an employee i.) while fulfilling his/her [...]

A recent written decision by the PTAB in connection with an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding is a reminder to patent prosecutors to carefully consider the possible construction of claim terms in a continuation or divisional application of earlier filed patent applications and the entitlement of the claim to priority to those earlier filed patent applications, which have published prior to the filing date of the continuation or divisional application. In addition, the decision serves as [...]