Article 182
The following Article 30/A has been added to the Law no. 5000 to come subsequent to Article 30:
“Disciplinary penalties, the actions necessitating a penalty and disciplinary board
ARTICLE 30/A- The disciplinary penalties stipulated in this Law shall be enforced for the ones that conduct attitudes and behaviour violating the patent attorney and trademark attorney occupation codes prepared and published at the official web site of the Office upon obtaining the opinion of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges and the organization related to attorneys with the highest number of members; and for the ones failing to perform the duties necessitated by being an attorney.
The disciplinary penalties to be enforced on the patent attorneys and trademark attorneys, and the actions and situations for which a disciplinary penalty shall be enforced are as follows:
a) Warning: Notification in writing that the person should act more attentively in the execution of attorneyship and his occupational attitudes and behaviours. Warning penalty shall be enforced for the attorneys that conduct attitudes and behaviour violating occupational codes.
b) Reprimand: Notification in writing that the person is flawed in the execution of attorneyship and his occupational attitudes and behaviours. Reprimand penalty shall be enforced for the ones that have received a warning penalty and acted in a manner necessitating the same penalty within two years or that fail to fulfil the obligations necessitated by being an attorney or performing attorneyship to the parties with conflicting interest in any operation executed before the Office.
c) Temporary retention from attorneyship activity: This shall be the prohibition of
attorneyship activity for duration not less than three months and not more than one year.
Penalty of temporary retention from attorneyship activity shall be enforced for the ones who have received a reprimand penalty and acted in a manner necessitating the same penalty within five years, or utilized his attorney powers and rights against the power of attorney or utilized the title, internet domain name or other promotion means of the Office to cause confusion.
d) Banning of attorneyship: This is the prohibition of attorney activity for an indefinite period. Banning of attorneyship shall be enforced for the ones who have received a penalty of temporary retention from attorney activity.
The authority to give disciplinary penalty for ones committing actions listed in the second paragraph shall lapse in case the investigation is not launched within three months after having been informed of commitment of such actions, and in any case the disciplinary penalty is not enforced within two years of commitment of actions requiring penalty.
It is obligatory to give the penalties listed under second paragraph within 30 days of conclusion of the investigation.
Disciplinary penalties may not be given without acquiring the defensive statement of the attorney. The attorney shall be deemed to withdraw his right of defense in case the defensive statement is not submitted within the duration to be prescribed by the investigator not less then seven days or at a specified date.
Disciplinary penatlies shall take effect on the date it is decided and shall be enforced immediately.
It may be applied to administrative justice against the decision for giving or not giving a disciplinary penalty. The ones that have been banned from patent attorneyship or trademark attorneyship as a result of a finalized disciplinary decision may not become a patent attorney or trademark attorney again.
The Disciplinary Board of Patent and Trademark Attorneys is comprised of seven persons as follows: one member from the Ministry, three members from the Office, and three members among patent attorneys or trademark attorneys who have not been penalized with any of the penalties mentioned under the second paragraph based on a decision of the Disciplinary Board. Substitute members at the same quantity and quality shall be determined. All members shall be appointed by the Minister of Science, Industry and Technology. Before the President of the Office suggests members to the Ministry to be selected among patent attorneys or trademark attorneys, he shall obtain the opinion of two chambers of commerce with the highest number of members and two attorneyship associations with the highest number of members.
The tenure period of the members of the Disciplinary Board is three years. If a legal proceeding has been instituted against any member with a crime mentioned under paragraph
(d) of the second paragraph of Article 30, this member may not attend the meetings until the end of that legal proceeding and the substitute member shall come to the meetings instead. The members that would not be able to attend to a meeting due to a valid excuse shall communicate his excuse before the meeting date. The membership of a member that fails to attend to two consecutive meetings without an excuse or who loses its eligibility of being selected shall be dropped and the substitute member shall come instead.