Türkiye’s open, fast-growing economy draws businesses from every market — and with that competition comes the risk of deceptive advertising, copied products and leaked trade secrets. Unfair competition law exists to keep that competition honest. It is not about market dominance or cartels — those fall under separate competition (antitrust) rules enforced by the Competition Authority — but about the day-to-day conduct of one business toward its rivals and its customers. For a foreign company entering the Turkish market, understanding this regime is both a shield and a sword: it protects your brand and know-how, and it gives you a fast route to stop a competitor who plays dirty.
The legal framework
Unfair competition in Türkiye is governed by the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (arts. 54-63). This is the single controlling source, and it applies whether or not the parties are registered merchants — a small trader, a global brand and an online seller are all bound by the same standard of honest conduct.
- Article 54 states the guiding principle: any deceptive or otherwise good-faith-breaching conduct that affects relations between competitors, or between businesses and customers, is unlawful. This general clause matters because it lets courts reach new forms of misconduct that no list could anticipate — from fake online reviews to deceptive influencer campaigns.
- Article 55 sets out a detailed, non-exhaustive catalogue of prohibited acts — the practical heart of the regime.
- Articles 56-63 cover remedies, the liability of employers and the press, criminal sanctions, and limitation periods.
Because the general clause and the specific list work together, a claim can succeed even where the conduct does not fit neatly into one of the listed categories, as long as it breaches the underlying duty of good faith.
Foreign clients often conflate this regime with antitrust. The two are separate tracks with different rules, different forums and different remedies:
| Unfair competition | Competition (antitrust) law | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal source | Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, arts. 54-63 | Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition |
| Typical conduct | Misleading ads, imitation, trade-secret misuse | Cartels, abuse of dominance, merger control |
| Who enforces | Private parties before the Commercial Courts | The Competition Authority (plus private follow-on claims) |
| Core question | Was the conduct deceptive or in bad faith? | Was competition in the market restricted? |
What counts as unfair competition
Article 55 groups the most common violations into recognisable categories. In practice, the disputes we handle usually involve:
- Misleading or disparaging statements — false claims about your own products, prices or business, or denigrating claims about a competitor. Inaccurate comparative advertising falls here too.
- Inducing breach of contract — persuading a rival’s staff or customers to break their existing agreements, or systematically poaching a key team to cripple a competitor.
- Misuse of trade secrets — unauthorised acquisition, use or disclosure of confidential business information, including secrets carried out by a departing employee.
- Imitation — copying another’s goods, packaging or presentation in a way that creates confusion, without adding genuine distinctive value.
- Unfair trading terms — using standard-form terms that, in bad faith, materially disadvantage the other side.
A rule of thumb for foreign clients: hard competition is welcome, deception is not. Beating a rival on price, quality or service is lawful; winning by lying about them, copying their look, or stealing their know-how is not.
What this means for you
If you are the one harmed, the practical question is rarely “is this immoral?” but “can I prove it fits article 54 or 55, and can I stop it now?” If you are the one accused, the defence usually lies in showing your conduct was accurate, independently developed, or ordinary competitive behaviour — not deception. Either way, the outcome is shaped early, by how quickly and how well the facts are captured.
Remedies available to a claimant
Where a business is harmed, Article 56 gives the court a full toolkit. A claimant may seek an order:
- establishing that the conduct is unfair;
- prohibiting and stopping the conduct;
- removing the material state of affairs it created (for example, recalling infringing packaging);
- correcting false or misleading statements, and in appropriate cases publishing the judgment; and
- compensating material — and, where warranted, moral — damages.
The court can also require the wrongdoer to surrender the profits gained through the unfair act, which is powerful where your own loss is hard to quantify but the rival’s gain is visible. Just as important, interim injunctions can be obtained early to freeze damaging conduct before a final judgment — often the decisive step in fast-moving markets, because a stop order that comes two years too late may protect nothing.
Criminal exposure
Under Article 62, certain deliberate acts — knowingly making false statements, misusing trade secrets, or refusing to disclose the true source of goods — can trigger criminal liability on complaint. This means civil and criminal proceedings can proceed in parallel. For a claimant, the credible threat of a criminal complaint often concentrates a deliberate wrongdoer’s mind far faster than a civil claim alone; for a respondent, it is a reason to take even an informal cease-and-desist letter seriously.
Timing and evidence
Two points decide most cases.
First, limitation: claims must generally be brought within one year of learning of the conduct and the responsible party, and within three years of the conduct itself. These deadlines run quickly, and the earlier you move, the stronger an interim injunction application will be.
Preserve the evidence the moment you suspect a problem. Screenshot the advertisement, keep the emails, buy and store the copied product, and log who had access to the secret. Cases are won on the file you built before you called a lawyer — not after.
Second, evidence: unfair competition disputes turn on documented proof — advertisements, correspondence, product comparisons, and records showing how a trade secret was taken. Because Commercial Courts often refer these questions to an expert panel, a clear, well-organised file does double duty: it supports your injunction and it steers the expert’s conclusions.
For online misconduct, timing is even tighter. A misleading advertisement, a fake review campaign or a copied product listing can be edited or deleted within hours of a warning letter. Where the evidence is digital, we typically secure a notarised determination of the web content — a formal record made by a Turkish notary — before alerting the other side, so the proof survives whatever happens next.
How we help
We advise foreign and domestic businesses on both sides of these disputes:
- assessing whether conduct crosses the line under arts. 54-63, before you commit to litigation;
- securing interim injunctions to stop ongoing harm quickly;
- pursuing or defending claims for damages and account of profits;
- protecting trade secrets through contracts, warning letters and litigation; and
- coordinating civil and criminal action where deliberate misconduct is involved.
The goal is practical: stop the harm quickly, protect your position, and keep the market fair so that your business can compete on its merits.
How an unfair competition claim proceeds
- 01
Evidence capture
We preserve the file immediately — screenshots, correspondence, product samples and access logs — before advertisements are pulled and trails go cold.
- 02
Legal assessment
We test whether the conduct fits articles 54-55 and weigh the strength of civil, injunctive and criminal routes before you commit.
- 03
Warning letter
A well-drafted cease-and-desist often stops the conduct without litigation and strengthens any later injunction application.
- 04
Interim injunction
Where the harm continues, we apply to the Commercial Court to freeze the conduct before the case is decided — often the decisive move.
- 05
Trial and remedies
We pursue a declaration, a stop order, correction, damages and surrender of the wrongdoer's profits through to final judgment.
Frequently asked questions
Which law governs unfair competition in Türkiye?
Unfair competition is regulated by the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, articles 54 to 63. Article 54 sets the general principle that deceptive or otherwise good-faith-breaching conduct affecting competition between businesses, or between businesses and customers, is unlawful. Article 55 lists the most common categories, from misleading advertising to breach of trade secrets. Importantly, these rules apply whether or not the parties are registered merchants.
What remedies can a claimant obtain?
Under article 56 a claimant may ask the court to establish that the conduct is unfair, to stop it, to remove the material state of affairs it created, and to correct false or misleading statements. Where there is fault, the claimant can also recover material damages and, in some cases, moral damages, plus any profit the wrongdoer made through the unfair act. Courts can order interim injunctions to halt harmful conduct while the case proceeds.
Is misleading advertising unfair competition?
Yes. Article 55 expressly treats false or misleading statements about one's own goods, services, prices, stock or business — or disparaging statements about a competitor — as unfair competition. Comparative advertising is permitted only where it is accurate and neither misleading nor denigrating. In practice, the line between aggressive-but-lawful marketing and unlawful disparagement is where many disputes are won or lost.
How do I protect a trade secret if a former employee takes it?
The unauthorised acquisition, use or disclosure of confidential business information is unfair competition under article 55, even where the information leaves through a departing employee. The strongest protection is built in advance: written confidentiality and non-solicitation clauses, controlled access to sensitive data, and a documented trail showing what the information was and how it was protected. When a leak is discovered, a prompt warning letter and an interim injunction can stop further use before the damage spreads.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
Claims are subject to a limitation period: generally one year from the date the claimant learns of the conduct and the responsible party, and in any event three years from the conduct itself. Because deadlines run quickly, and interim injunctions are most effective early, prompt legal advice matters. Waiting also weakens the evidentiary picture, as advertisements are pulled and correspondence is deleted.
Can unfair competition also be a crime?
Yes. Article 62 of the Turkish Commercial Code provides for criminal liability, on complaint, for certain deliberate acts of unfair competition — for example knowingly making false statements, misusing another's trade secrets, or refusing to disclose the true source of goods. Criminal and civil routes can run in parallel, which often adds decisive leverage against a deliberate wrongdoer.
Which court hears an unfair competition case?
Unfair competition claims between businesses are heard by the Commercial Courts of First Instance, which specialise in commercial disputes. Because these cases frequently turn on technical or accounting questions — how a product was copied, how profits should be calculated, how a secret was taken — the court will often appoint an expert panel. Building a clear, well-documented file from the outset makes that expert stage work in your favour rather than against you.