MINISTRY OF JUSTICE RAMPING UP IPR ENFORCEMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 002175 SIPDIS EEB/TPP/IPE FOR JOELLEN URBAN DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR FOR JCHOE-GROVES AND MMOWREY DEPT PLEASE PASS USPTO FOR MICHAEL SMITH USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/CRUSNAK, KNAJDI E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/25/2018 TAGS: KIPR ECON KCRM USTR TU SUBJECT: MINISTRY OF JUSTICE RAMPING UP IPR ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS REF: A. A) ANKARA 2128 ¶B. B) ANKARA 1471 Classified By: Economic Counselor Dale Eppler for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Mustafa Akkus, Judge and DDG for European Union Affairs at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ),and Hulya Cetin, a judge specializing in IPR issues in the same department, provided Econoff with a summary of the MOJ's efforts to improve Turkey's IPR regime and increase the level of enforcement. Conceding that Turkey is often criticized for not doing enough on the enforcement side, Akkus argued that the GOT recognizes the serious nature of the problem and that it is taking steps to create a judicial framework that will allow not only for better enforcement, but also for a nuanced approach that will catch the true criminals. These steps include increased training for judges and prosecutors, the appointment of specialized IPR prosecutors in key areas, and the designation of special IPR-related juvenile courts. The GOT also created an internal, high-level consultation group to better coordinate policy and built a data network that will link IPR judges directly to Turkish Patent Institute and Ministry of Culture databases. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) In recent years, Turkey has made solid progress in bringing its legal regime for IPR up to international standards. Its enforcement efforts, however, have consistently failed to keep up with the improving legal framework. A recent report released by the International Investor's Association (YASED) highlighted this deficiency (see Ref A),and called for the GOT to pay more attention to the issue of IPR enforcement. ¶3. (C) Mustafa Akkus, Judge and DDG for European Union Affairs at MOJ, and Hulya Cetin, a judge specializing in IPR issues in the same department, told Econoff that the GOT recognizes the seriousness of the issue and is taking a number of steps to address the problem, specifically: - Increased Training: In 2008, the MOJ held four major trainings on specialized aspects of Turkey's IPR regime, in conjunction with the private sector and European Patent Institute, with participation from approximately 150 Turkish judges and prosecutors. - Appointment of Specialized IPR Prosecutors: As of November 7, all public prosecutor offices with more than 500 annual IPR cases must establish a separate bureau dedicated to IPR. Offices with smaller caseloads must still designate individual prosecutors to deal specifically with IPR. In areas with juvenile affairs offices, another prosecutor from that section must also be designated for IPR. - Creation of Specialized IPR Courts for Juveniles: There are currently 73 juvenile courts for misdemeanors and 20 juvenile courts for felonies. The MOJ has proposed to the Supreme Council for Judges and Public Prosecutors that in regions with multiple juvenile courts, one court should be assigned specifically for IPR cases. A decision on this is expected by the end of the year. - Establishment of Juridical Consultation Group for IPR: On November 22, the Juridical Consultation Group for IPR held its first meeting, with participation from Supreme Court judges and prosecutors, all specialized IPR judges and prosecutors, and relevant MOJ officials. This group aims to meet regularly to ensure that the judicial system is consistent in its interpretation and application of IPR laws and to make recommendations to improve enforcement. The results of the meeting will be published on the Justice Ministry's website at www.adalet.gov.tr. - New Data Network: As part of MOJ's larger National Judicial Network Project (UYAP),the IPR courts are being brought into a new computer network that will link them directly to the databases of the Turkish Patent Institute, Turkish Customs, and the Ministry of Culture (for more on this system, see Ref B). This will significantly reduce the timeframe for IPR cases, which often involve lengthy waits while records are pulled by hand and mailed to relevant courts. MOJ has finished the technical infrastructure, but is still waiting for the other agencies to complete their work. ¶4. (C) Akkus explained that MOJ is focusing its attention on the juvenile courts because many of the organized fraud rings utilize children to distribute their product. Recognizing that these children are victims as well, MOJ hopes that by designating specialized prosecutors and courts they will be able to sensitize enforcement officials to the unique circumstances of juvenile cases. The goal is to use the courts to rehabilitate the children, not punish them, while simultaneously seeking to catch the true criminals through more nuanced investigative techniques. ¶5. (C) Akkus welcomed the idea of additional training from USG sources and noted that MOJ had benefited greatly from the officials who had previously received training in the U.S. He is concerned, however, that Turkey is often unable to take advantage of USPTO training offerings because of relatively short turnaround times. For active judges to attend training, for example, it must be approved by a high-level board that meets only on an occasional basis. He requested that if at all possible, notification of training opportunities be sent out with at least three months of prior notice. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: In May 2008, Post sponsored a USPTO training in Istanbul for Customs enforcement officials using INL funds. Customs officials described that as "very helpful" and requested follow-up training on counterfeit goods recognition, which we plan to conduct in early to mid-2009. Taken together with the MOJ's new initiatives, the desire of Customs for more hands-on training indicates that at least some in the GOT are finally coming to agree with our long-advocated stance that the missing element in Turkey's IPR regime is enforcement. End comment. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey