The Ministry of Trade Advertising Board, in its May 15, 2025 dated meeting, examined advertisements and promotions conducted through a website that is an exact copy of another company’s official website.
As a result of the examination, it was determined that the copied website was created as an identical replica of the original rights holder’s official site and that the promotions on this site were misleading to consumer. It was concluded that these promotions, especially due to their similarity with the copied website, were deceptive and violating the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices as well as Law No. 6502 on the Protection of the Consumer; accordingly, a decision was made to block access to the website.
According to Article 7 of the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices, advertisements must be truthful, honest, and not misleading; they should be prepared by considering the average consumer’s level of perception and the possible effect of the advertisement on the consumer. In this context, an exact copy of a website belonging to a well-known brand creates the misleading impression for the average consumer that they are visiting the original official site, thus generating a deceptive effect. Further, according to Articles 11 and 12 of the Regulation, advertisements must not abuse commercial reputation nor imitate in a way that misleads consumer or causes confusion. The website under review gives the impression of belonging to the original right holder, which harms the trademark’s reputation and misleads consumers.
Another noteworthy point in the Advertising Board’s decision is that no electronic means of communication could be found on the complained-about website, preventing notification from being delivered to the responsible party. Therefore, since the website did not include any communication channels, pursuant to Article 71/12 of Law No. 6502, the Board decided to block access directly because notification could not be made to the concerned party.
This decision is of importance in terms of ensuring consumer safety, protecting trademark rights, and preventing unfair competition, particularly in advertisements and promotions conducted online. Additionally, it provides an alternative application channel to courts or dispute resolution service providers for blocking access to counterfeit websites.
The full text of the decision is available in the May 15, 2025, Advertising Board Meeting Press Release, accessible via the relevant Ministry of Trade website.
