UNFAIR COMPETITION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN TURKISH LAW

Competition, which is one of the necessities of commercial life in today's conditions, should be engaged in within the framework of good faith and should not be abused. This requirement reveals the concept of unfair competition. “Deceptive or dishonest acts and commercial practices that affect the relations between competitors or between suppliers and customers are unfair competition.” In many countries, including our country, there are legal regulations to protect the parties of commercial relations that are exposed to competition and to prevent unfair competition.

Unfair competition is regulated in Turkish Commercial Code (“TCC”) starting from Article 54. The cases of unfair competition listed in Article 55 of TCC do not have a restrictive nature and are specified as examples of behavior contrary to the rule of good faith. The cases of unfair competition listed in this article can be grouped under six main headings: (i) advertisements and sales methods contrary to the rule of good faith and other unlawful acts (ii) directing one of the parties to breach or terminate the contract, (iii) unauthorized utilization of others' work products, iv) to evaluate the information and business secrets that are obtained without permission, to disclose the production or business secrets of someone unlawfully, (v) failure to comply with business terms either imposed on competitors by law or contract or are ordinary in a profession or environment and (vi) using transaction terms contrary to the rule of good faith.

In case of unfair competition, at the request of the person who has the right to file a lawsuit, the competent court may decide on elimination of the situation which unfair competition caused, the prevention of unfair competition, and other measures in accordance with the provisional injunction relief of the Code of Civil Procedure.

The consequences of unfair competition in Turkish law are divided into two, as legal and criminal liability. Lawsuits that may be filed due to unfair competition are; declaratory lawsuit, case of injunction, elimination of the financial situation as a result of unfair competition, and compensation cases. The fault of the offender is required for the compensation case to be filed. In these cases, the person who suffers from unfair competition or is exposed to the danger of being harmed, customers or professional and economic associations may hold the title of the plaintiff. The defendant of the these lawsuits shall be the person who carries out the act of unfair competition, the employer, the executive editor, the editor-in-chief or the owner of the business or institution.

The person who may have the title of the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit may also file a criminal complaint against those who may also have the title of the defendant in a civil suit, and seek to hold them criminally liable. In this case, pursuant to art. 62 of TCC, complainants may be imprisoned up to two years or a judicial fine may be imposed for them.

The statute of limitations in unfair competition cases is one year from the day the party who has a legal interest in filing the lawsuit learns about the arise of this right and in any case three years from the moment the action takes place. However, if the act that creates unfair competition constitutes a crime that is subject to a longer statute of limitation according to the Turkish Penal Code, the act will be subject to this statute of limitations.