TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE CONTINUES WAR AGAINST IPR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001674

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON KCRM KIPR ETRD TU
SUBJECT: TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE CONTINUES WAR AGAINST IPR
VIOLATIONS

REF: A. ANKARA 705

B. ANKARA 732


1. (SBU) Summary. Following several major seizures of
IPR-violating goods in April and May (described in reftels),
the Turkish National Police (TNP) IPR Branch continued its
stepped-up assault on piracy and counterfeiting with three
additional raids in June and October. These netted millions
of lira worth of pirated material and literally tons of
counterfeit commercial goods, and led to the arrests of more
than 150 people. In all, through the first ten months of
2009, the TNP has seized over 16.3 million pirated books,
CDs, and DVDs and nearly 700,000 pieces of counterfeit
commercial products. They have also initiated legal
proceedings against 3129 people. Despite this success, the
IPR Branch continues to feel that it is receiving only
lukewarm support from rights holders, media, and NGOs. In at
least one case, the TNP offered to work closely with a U.S.
firm on a major counterfeit goods operation targeting their
products and the company turned them down. Additional
efforts by the USG to encourage rights holders to work with
the TNP could lead to more effective partnership and more
effective enforcement of IPR. End Summary.


2. (SBU) As described in reftels, the TNP conducted major
antipiracy operations in April and May. They followed up on
this success with another major raid targeting pirated goods
on June 1, with a raid targeting counterfeit cleaning
products on October 12, and with an operation against book
piracy on October 17-18.

Clearing out Pirate Nests, Cleaning Up Fake Cleaning Products
-------------- --------------


3. (U) On June 1, TNP IPR Branch officers based in Istanbul
conducted concurrent raids of 106 addresses in Istanbul
proper. These operations seized 2.2 million pieces of
copyright-violating material and led to the arrest of 62
criminals. Police also confiscated 350 pieces of machinery
used to produce infringing goods.


4. (U) On October 12, the TNP concluded a long-term operation
aimed at eliminating the production of fake cleaning
products. TNP officers raided 215 addresses in 18 cities,
the majority of them in Istanbul. The following items were
seized in the Istanbul operations:

-- Chemicals used in the production of counterfeit shampoo,
including 200 tons of packed detergents, 70 tons of soda, 100
kg of glue and 55kg of shampoo liquid;
-- 110,000 fake product labels;
-- 277,668 packages of fake shampoo, detergent, chewing gum,
coffee, tea, and hygienic pads;
-- 43 machines used in the production of counterfeit cleaning
products;
-- 23 computers;
-- 4 guns and 168 shotgun shells; and,
-- 3 grams of hashish.


5. (U) The market value of the seized goods was approximately
TL 20 million (USD 13.5 million),and 93 people were
arrested, of whom 50 were held following judicial hearings
and 43 were released after providing testimony. The
Provincial Health Directorate also sealed off a warehouse
containing fake goods.


6. (U) On October 17-18, the TNP returned to anti-piracy
operations, raiding 4 warehouses and one office in Istanbul.
The following items were seized:

-- 450,000 books without banderoles produced by international
publishing houses;
-- 12,005 books without banderoles produced by local
publishing houses;
-- 1.4 million book templates;
-- 377,450 book covers;
-- 2,000 cases for book covers;
-- 6,885 tracing papers; and,
-- 6 printing machines.

ANKARA 00001674 002 OF 002



A Good Year for the TNP, but It Still Feels Neglected
-------------- --------------


7. (U) 2009 has been a good year for the TNP IPR Branch. In
just ten months, they seized 16.3 million pirated books,
CDs/DVDs and software and nearly 700,000 individual pieces of
counterfeit goods. The street value of these products is in
the hundreds of millions of dollars. They have also arrested
and charged 3129 people for violations of copyright and
trademark laws. Much of this success comes from a new
understanding of the cost of counterfeit goods and a new
willingness to use anti-organized crime laws to facilitate
pro-IPR investigations (as described in Ref B). As TNP does
not have the power to act ex officio solely to prevent
violations of copyright or trademark laws, however, it is
still reliant on rights holders filing a formal complaint
before they can take action.


8. (SBU) Despite the success of the unit, they continue to
feel that they are getting only lukewarm support from the
private sector. Gokmen Tekin, Chief of the TNP IPR Office in
Ankara, has repeatedly complained to us that media gives
insufficient attention to the seizures and that rights
holders are quick to complain but slow to praise. He also
expressed frustration at the lack of support for specific
operations. Over the summer, the TNP had asked for and
received the Embassy's help in establishing contact with a
large U.S. commercial goods firm, as TNP was planning a
months-long operation specifically targeting counterfeiters
of that company's products. The company expressed only
lackluster interest in the operation and was unwilling to
actively cooperate on pursuing the infringing criminals
(Comment: To be fair to the company, the TNP had asked that
they defray the expenses of TNP officers involved in the
operation, an expense which the company reasonably concluded
was part of why it pays Turkish taxes. End comment.)


9. (SBU) Comment: Active interest in IPR enforcement among
Turkish agencies is rare enough that it should be encouraged.
Post will continue to recommend to rights holders that they
look to work together with the TNP and that they publicly
recognize successful TNP operations when they happen. To the
extent that U.S.-based USG agencies interact with rights
holders who are experiencing problems in Turkey, it may be
helpful to pass along the same message. If funds for
specialized IPR training become available, the TNP may also
be a useful focus for further efforts. End comment.



JEFFREY

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