The Position of Patent Licensing Agreements Against Competition Rules in Turkish Law

Abstract

The reason behind the protection of patent is to provide a balance between the competing interest of inventor, investor and society. This balance has been achieved by awarding inventors with exclusive rights and introducing exceptions to exclusivity in favour of society; but in the meantime, obliging society to respect those exclusive rights with limited time. Licensing agreements are one of the most important ways of ensuring this balance. However some clauses of licensing agreements may conflict with the Competition Law. This article is about the conflict of patent licensing agreements and Competition Law of Turkey.