TURKEY
lack of formal ex officio authority to act against infringement of IP rights, and urges Turkey to bring legislation fully in line with the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. Turkey’s draſt Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works is pending.
Causes for optimism
Despite these issues—and getting the various draſt statutes on to the books is clearly the most pressing—there are reasons to be optimistic. Te Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) is on an upward trajectory. According to the EU, its decisions are faring better in the Turkish courts, while the speed of trademark registrations is improving. And new Examination Guidelines for patents, trademarks and designs promise that international best practice will play a more important role in examinations.
It’s clear that influential actors in Turkey want to bring its IP system up to speed with international requirements. And why wouldn’t they? A trustworthy IP system has benefits that go far beyond efficiency. Increased investment and international trade are the prizes and so, further down the line, might be EU membership.
“THERE ARE 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 Turkish government is bullish about its progress, with EU minister Egemen Bağış recently telling the EU/Turkey IPR working group: “Turkey has achieved substantial progress in the enforcement of IP rights, as demonstrated by the outputs of EU-funded projects carried out in the IP area and statistics submitted to the Commission. Tis progress, which has also been
acknowledged by the Commission in various meetings, indicates Turkey’s commitment to fighting against counterfeiting and piracy.”
However much needs to improve in Turkey as regards the IP statues and enforcement, it would hardly be fair to cast it as some kind of IP backwater. Turkey is a member of the European Patent Convention, the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Madrid Protocol. It is working closely with the EU and the Office for Harmonization of the Internal Market to address some of the key issues, while a May meeting of the US and Turkey Economic Partnership Commission discussed IP extensively. Indeed, that commission has established a Copyright Working Group, which may go some way to alleviating the concerns of the USTR.
Given its geographical, economic and strategic importance, it
seems clear that Turkey will
become an increasingly significant jurisdiction for businesses which rely on IP for their success, whether they be pharmaceutical producers, big brands or copyright holders. As such, the best strategy is surely to attempt to be part of the discussion about Turkey’s future, to help it get up to speed with international standards and bring it further into the international IP fold. It’s a question of watching this space.
Local expertise. International reputation.
Proactive IP legal advice in the Cayman Islands Exceptional trademark and patent management Member of INTA and AIPLA
Contact Hector Robinson, Partner on + 1 345 814 9114
hector.robinson@
mourantozannes.com
Best Offshore Law Firm, THE LAWYER 2011 Offshore Law Firm of the Year, CHAMBERS EUROPE 2011
mourantozannes.com
46 World Intellectual Property Review July/August 2012
www.worldipreview.com
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