1.What is R&D Law?
Today, concepts such as information, technology and innovation stand out among the most important elements of the period we live in. In this context, we observe that terms such as R&D, inventions, innovation and intellectual and industrial property rights are complementary to each other.
Although there is no special “R&D Law” legislation in Turkish law, when we consider the life cycle of R&D activities, we can say that this field is accompanied by a wide scope including many branches of law such as Intellectual and Industrial Property Law, Personal Data Protection Law, Law of Obligations, Commercial Law, Labor Law.
Depending on the sector in which R&D activities are carried out, different legal obligations and the need to comply with legislation may arise. For this reason, we can say that a new area of expertise has emerged under the name of “R&D Law” and in this field, especially companies involved in national and international projects such as TÜBİTAK, TEYDEB, EUREKA, Horizon Europe, those who develop software projects and companies that produce products with commercialization potential need a special legal consultancy.
2. What Areas Does R&D Law Cover?
With the increase in R&D activities in our country, issues such as ownership, management, transfer and licensing of intellectual and industrial rights, as well as the regulation of cooperation projects with the right contracts and ensuring the compliance of these activities with the vision, mission and objectives of the companies, as well as the execution of these activities in accordance with the legislation has gained great importance.
It is clear that there is a mutual relationship between innovation and R&D activities and intellectual and industrial property rights. Technology-oriented firms that develop innovative products have monopoly rights on the products they produce for a certain period of time through industrial property rights protection. This protection supports innovation as the income generated encourages new R&D investments.
2.1. The Relationship Between R&D and Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights
Intellectual and industrial property rights include assets such as trademarks, patents, traditional products, geographical indications, utility models and industrial designs. These rights bring businesses to an important position by providing competitive advantage over others. R&D processes have an important role in the development of new products and technologies. In these processes, intellectual and industrial property rights have a critical importance. It is necessary to determine the right intellectual and industrial property strategies for the protection and utilization of innovations. In addition, it is important to establish an appropriate legal framework for the protection of inventions, discoveries and other intellectual property elements arising from R&D processes. Within this framework, the preparation and management of contracts is also of great importance. Proper contract counselling ensures the protection and assessment of intellectual and industrial property rights. In addition, the legal review and regulation of collaborations, licence agreements and all other contracts in R&D processes ensures the establishment of a reliable business relationship between the parties. In this way, R&D activities are legally protected and processes are carried out more effectively.
2.2. Processing of Personal Data within the Scope of R&D Activities
In addition, the protection of personal data plays a critical role in the development of new products and technologies. In particular, it is also important to ensure the legal compliance of products such as applications, software, etc. developed by directly or indirectly contacting personal data processing activities in order to prevent future sanctions. In particular, regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) within the scope of the European Union and the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 in force in our country strictly control the use of personal data in R&D processes. For this reason, companies involved in R&D activities must ensure the confidentiality and security of personal data by paying attention to legal compliance. This compliance is both an important step in fulfilling ethical responsibilities and critical in avoiding legal sanctions.
2.3. Employee Inventions and Process Management
The relationship between R&D processes and “Employee Inventions” is mutually interactive. One of the important risks in the business processes of companies is the complexity of the legal regulations regarding the inventions developed by their employees. Serious legal problems may arise if the rules in the Employee Inventions legislation, which regulates the management of inventions, new products, etc. created by employees in the workplace, are not applied correctly. Employers should be careful about the correct notification of inventions and claiming their rights, otherwise they may lose their inventions. Employers are entitled to own the inventions of their employees if the employer fulfils certain conditions. However, if the employer does not comply with these conditions, the employer may have to allow the employee to use the invention freely. In addition, the employer, who claims rights on the invention within the time limit, is obliged to pay remuneration to the employee after the patent or utility model certificates related to the invention are obtained. Likewise, even in the event of termination of the employment relationship, the employee inventor may sue the company and claim the invention fee. Therefore, it is important for employers to carefully manage invention management processes and minimize legal risks. Likewise, when employees are actively involved in R&D processes, they have the opportunity to find solutions to problems related to their fields and develop innovative projects. The inventions obtained in this process both increase the competitiveness of the company and increase the motivation and loyalty of the employees. At the same time, employees provide feedback to improve the R&D processes of inventions, creating a continuous innovation cycle. Therefore, the relationship between R&D processes and employee inventions allows companies to achieve sustainable growth and competitive advantage.
3. Conclusion
Consequently, R&D Law aims to ensure the identification, examination, and management of intellectual and industrial property rights, which are the signs of innovation. Accordingly, the objectives of R&D Law are the extent to which the changes made, the data, information and resources used work in line with the relevant R&D activity and/or project purpose and to ensure the management of intellectual property rights in line with this purpose, to determine the objectives in terms of the management of intellectual property rights periodically in accordance with the applicable laws, to structure the processes of employee inventions, management of national and international intellectual and industrial property registration processes, harmonization of products or processes that are project or R&D outputs with data protection law, ensuring contract management in the R&D process, ensuring that management policies are applicable and managing the activities carried out in accordance with legislation, laws and necessary resources.
