Unfair Competition Law in Turkey: A Guide for Foreign Businesses

Under Turkish law, unfair competition (haksız rekabet) is any deceptive or dishonest commercial conduct that breaches good faith and harms competitors, suppliers or customers; it is governed by Articles 54-63 of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102. Foreign companies, investors and suppliers are fully covered, regardless of nationality. This guide explains what counts as unfair competition, the civil and criminal claims available, how you prove it, and the deadlines and courts that apply.

What Unfair Competition Means Under Turkish Law

Unfair competition (haksız rekabet) is regulated by the Turkish Commercial Code (TTK), Law No. 6102, Articles 54 to 63. The purpose of these rules is to keep commercial competition honest and undistorted, and to protect the people who depend on it: competitors, suppliers and customers alike.

Three things must come together for conduct to qualify: (a) it breaches the duty of good faith, (b) it affects relations between competitors, suppliers or customers, and (c) it causes harm or creates a real risk of harm. The good-faith yardstick itself comes from art. 2 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK No. 4721) — the dürüstlük kuralı — which the TTK builds on.

The scope is deliberately wide. Protection is not limited to head-to-head rivals: a foreign company can rely on these rules whether it competes directly with a Turkish business or is simply being harmed by someone else's dishonest market behaviour. Many disputes overlap with brand protection and contracting, which is why unfair competition often surfaces when a foreign investor sets up a Turkish entity or pursues corporate and M&A deals in the market.

A Worked Example: When It Hits a Foreign Business

Abstract categories are easier to grasp with a concrete situation. Suppose you are a foreign manufacturer that sold through a Turkish distributor for several years. The relationship ends. Your former distributor then:

• keeps using your product photos, technical drawings and catalogue text on its own site;
• tells your existing customers, falsely, that you have "left the Turkish market"; and
• registers a near-identical product under a utility-model certificate it could only have built from your confidential know-how.

Each strand can be unfair competition under TTK art. 55: exploiting another's work product, making misleading statements about a competitor, and misusing production secrets. You would not need a written non-compete clause to act — though a well-drafted one in your commercial agreements makes the case stronger and faster. The same facts often support a parallel trademark or design claim, which is why these disputes are usually run on two tracks at once.

Prohibited Conduct: The Main Categories of Unfair Competition

TTK art. 55 sets out the recognised categories of unfair competition. The list is illustrative, not exhaustive: conduct that is not on the list can still be unfair if it breaches the good-faith standard in art. 54. The principal categories are summarised below.

Dishonest advertising and sales methods

Misrepresenting or disparaging others, their goods, prices or activities; claiming skills, awards or distinctions that were never earned; and using aggressive sales tactics that interfere with a customer's freedom to choose.

Inducing breach or termination of contract

Pushing a customer to break an existing agreement with someone else, or encouraging a competitor's staff to act against their employer, can be unfair competition where the goal is an improper advantage.

Unauthorised use of another's work product

Exploiting another business's offer, calculation, design or entrusted work product without permission — or taking a ready-made work result without your own appropriate contribution — is prohibited. This is the category that captures copied catalogues, drawings and corporate authorship and work-product rights.

Misuse of production and business secrets

Disclosing or exploiting manufacturing or trade secrets obtained unlawfully or by improper means is unfair competition. This frequently overlaps with confidentiality and non-compete clauses in your commercial contracts.

Breach of business conditions and unfair terms

Ignoring the ordinary terms of business required by law or contract, and using standard transaction terms that breach good faith in a way that misleads the counterparty, are both treated as unfair competition.

Civil Claims Available to an Injured Business

TTK art. 56 sets out the civil claims a harmed party can bring. They are usually combined in one proceeding:

• Declaratory claim (tespit) — a court declaration that the conduct is unfair and unlawful.
• Injunction / prohibition claim (men) — an order to stop the unfair competition and prevent its continuation.
• Restitution / correction claim — removal of the material situation created by the conduct, for example correcting false statements or recalling infringing material.
• Damages claim — compensation for pecuniary loss where there is fault, plus non-pecuniary (moral) damages where the conditions are met.
• Transfer of the benefit gained (disgorgement) — under art. 56, the judge may, as a form of damages, award the claimant the benefit the defendant gained or was likely to gain from the unfair conduct. This matters when your own loss is hard to prove but the infringer clearly profited.

Who can sue

Standing is broader than just the direct competitor. Customers (müşteri) harmed by the conduct can bring certain claims, and professional and economic organisations whose members are affected also have standing to sue. So a foreign supplier, its Turkish customer, or an industry body can all be the right claimant depending on the facts.

Because unfair competition sits in private law, the fault, loss and good-faith framework of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK No. 6098) and TMK art. 2 also feed into how compensation is assessed. Once you have a judgment for damages, the next step is recovery — our team can recover and enforce your losses through Turkish enforcement proceedings.

Emergency Relief: Interim Injunctions (İhtiyati Tedbir)

For most victims, the real question is not the final judgment years from now — it is how to stop the bleeding today. Turkish law allows an interim injunction (ihtiyati tedbir) to freeze ongoing harm while the main case runs.

In practice you must show the court, on a credible (not full-trial) basis, that unfair competition is probably occurring and that waiting would cause damage that money alone cannot easily repair. The court can order the conduct to stop, content to be taken down, or goods to be held. It will usually require the claimant to post security (teminat) to cover the other side if the measure later proves unjustified.

How You Prove Unfair Competition

Top of mind for any claimant is evidence. Turkish courts decide these cases on what you can prove, so gather it before the conduct disappears:

• Determination of facts (delil tespiti / notarised determination). Before filing, you can ask a court or notary to formally record the infringing website, advertisement, packaging or stock while it still exists — a snapshot that survives later edits.
• Expert reports (bilirkişi). Courts routinely appoint experts to assess technical questions such as whether designs were copied, whether an advertisement is misleading, or how much profit the conduct generated.
• Comparative and market evidence. Side-by-side comparisons of catalogues, drawings, pricing or marketing, plus customer communications, build the good-faith-breach picture.
• Accounting evidence. Sales and accounting records help quantify both your lost profit and the infringer's gain for the disgorgement claim.

Criminal Liability for Unfair Competition

Unfair competition can also be a crime. TTK art. 62 covers conduct such as deliberately engaging in unfair competition, giving false or misleading information to gain an edge over competitors, deceiving employees or agents to obtain trade secrets, and failing to prevent or correct false statements made by your own staff.

On conviction, an individual faces imprisonment of up to two years or a judicial fine — the two are alternatives, and the court chooses one. For legal persons (companies), the criminal route works through the responsible organ members or partners under TTK art. 63, and security measures apply to the company itself rather than imprisonment or a personal fine.

Deadlines and Which Court Hears the Case

Time limits. Under TTK art. 60, the art. 56 civil claims must be filed within one year from when the injured party learns of the right, and in any event within three years from the date the act occurred. Two refinements matter for foreign claimants:

• Continuing conduct. While the unfair conduct is still ongoing, the declaratory, injunction and restitution claims are not cut off by the one-year bar, because the wrong renews each day it continues.
• Criminal-act extension. Where the same conduct is also a crime carrying a longer limitation period under the Turkish Penal Code (TCK No. 5237), that longer period applies to the civil damages claim too (TTK art. 60, final sentence).

Competent court. Unfair-competition disputes are "absolutely commercial" cases (mutlak ticari dava) under TTK art. 4, so the Commercial Court of First Instance (Asliye Ticaret Mahkemesi) has mandatory jurisdiction wherever such a court exists. Where there is no separate commercial court, the civil court of first instance hears the case. Venue follows the general HMK No. 6100 rule: the defendant's place of residence or registered seat on the date of filing.

Unfair Competition Law vs. Competition (Antitrust) Law

Foreign businesses often confuse two distinct regimes. They work at different levels and pursue different goals:

The two can apply to the same facts. A single course of conduct can be both an unfair-competition tort against a rival and an antitrust violation enforced by the regulator. Foreign acquirers should keep both in view, alongside competition law compliance and any merger control obligations.

How Turkish Courts Apply These Rules

The Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) has built a substantial body of case law on where conduct crosses the line. Unfair-competition appeals are handled by its 11th Civil Chamber (11. Hukuk Dairesi), which continues to issue decisions in this area on a regular basis.

Key themes from the case law

• Misuse of work products after leaving a company. Where a former insider commercialises products or designs belonging to a previous employer, the courts examine whether this breaches good faith — including claims to invalidate utility-model certificates obtained on that basis.
• Misleading comparative advertising. Advertisements with incomplete or misleading information, or sales methods contrary to honesty, have supported claims for both pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.

The common thread is consistent: the court weighs the conduct against the good-faith standard in art. 54 and the examples in art. 55, then fixes remedies under art. 56. Outcomes are fact-specific, so a Turkish lawyer should review your situation before you rely on any single precedent. To discuss an unfair competition claim with our team, get in touch with the facts and any evidence you have already secured.

Frequently asked questions