TURKEY
Turkey is fast becoming one of the most important developing economies for international businesses, but its intellectual property system sometimes struggles to keep up, as WIPR finds out.
With its unique position as conduit between Europe and Asia, Turkey looks set to become an ever more vital jurisdiction for IP. It does, however, pose a bit of a conundrum to businesses and IP lawyers. Patent and trademark applications have been on the rise for years, while the economy continues to outperform its developed rivals. Tis means businesses can see real opportunities in the country, whether it be for pharmaceutical innovation or luxury goods sales.
And yet, there is cause for wariness. In May, the Office of
the US Trade Representative
(USTR) released its annual Special 301 Report, once again putting Turkey on its piracy and counterfeiting ‘watch list’. Te report said: “Turkey should take action on the legislative reforms that are currently pending, and should take steps to provide an effective mechanism to address piracy in the digital environment, including full implementation of
the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO’s) Internet treaties. Additional resources and training are needed to allow for more effective IP rights enforcement efforts, including additional training for judges, especially with respect to piracy over the Internet.”
Being on the watch list is one thing, but there are other good reasons for Turkey to address the issues identified by it. Te country is keen to take up membership of the European Union, but to do so, it has to ensure that it meets the entry criteria (and given the current situation in Europe, it seems unlikely the EU will be inclined to be lenient when it comes to these requirements).
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Te EU has acknowledged that, broadly speaking, IP law is moving in the right direction in Turkey—indeed, the “pending” reforms mentioned in the Special 301 Report hint at the same thing. Te real difficulty is in enforcement.
A new draſt law was published in January of this year, containing provisions to address some of the key shortcomings in the current patent, utility model, industrial design and trademark statutes. Tis includes criminal law provisions for certain IP infringements. Once it is approved by the Turkish Senate, things will no doubt improve. But there are still significant concerns about the ability of Turkish courts to enforce the law effectively, and in the area of copyright piracy, deeper worries about whether the law is adequate.
Te
Alliance (IIPA), a private sector US trade associations
International Intellectual Property coalition of
representing copyright-
based industries, says that while there has been incremental improvement in copyright enforcement in Turkey, there are still significant issues which need to be addressed. “Te value of unlicensed soſtware use in Turkey remains high, and rapidly expanding Internet piracy has stunted the growth of the music and other industries in Turkey,” said an IIPA report. “In addition, book piracy continues to hinder the development of the publishing industry, while there have been slight declines in physical optical disc piracy year on year.”
Te IIPA laments the difficulty of enforcement of copyright, highlighting “burdensome court processes, long delays in adjudication of cases, and overall lack of IP expertise within the judiciary.” And, like the EU, it highlights the
World Intellectual Property Review July/August 2012 45
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