TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE CONTINUES SUCCESSFUL SEIZURES

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E.O. 12958:N/A

TAGS: ECON, ETRD, EFIN, TU

SUBJ: TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE CONTINUES SUCCESSFUL SEIZURES



Ref: A) ANKARA 705, B) ANKARA 326



This cable is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect

accordingly.



1. (SBU) Summary. Following two major operations that yielded more

than a million pirated CDs and DVDs and hundreds of thousands of

counterfeit pharmaceuticals in April and May (Ref A),the Turkish

National Police (TNP) announced on May 20 that it seized 1 million

pirated books in Istanbul. TNP officials said they confiscated 15

printing machines and 1,350 book templates in this operation, and 10

people were taken into custody and estimates that the market value

of the books seized is as high as TL20 million (USD 13 million).

Increased TNP seizures indicate the growing acceptance among Turkish

law enforcement of the idea that producing and trading counterfeit

products is a crime. However, the lack of speedy trial processes

and deterrent penalties remain a matter of concern for rights

holders. End summary.



2. (U) Turkish National Police (TNP) Istanbul Security Directorate's

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Division held a press conference

on May 21 to announce their successful seizure of 1 million pirated

books on May 20. TNP Istanbul IPR Division cooperated with the

Organized Crime Department in these raids, conducted concurrently in

seven warehouses in different parts of Istanbul. The raids came as

a result of TNP's technical surveillance on Hasan Gul, who was

previously arrested for pirated book production and trading but was

released pending trial. Including Gul, 10 people were taken into

custody in the operation.



3. (SBU) In yesterday's press conference, Istanbul TNP Security

Branch Director Ilyas Burunak announced that, in addition to the

pirated books of 98 Turkish and international writers, the TNP

seized 15 printing machines and 1,350 book templates in the

operation. "We estimate that the approximate market value of the

books is TL20 million," said Burunak. The TNP also found

distribution charts for the books to be sold in various cities.

Also speaking at the press conference, Turkish writers Elif Safak,

Iskender Pala and Tuna Kiremitci stressed the harm pirated books

caused to all parties involved in the production of the original

books, and gave the message that the sale of pirated books is not a

victimless crime. Note: The active participation by several

important authors contrasted positively with the private sector's

lack of strong public reaction for the DVD and pharmaceutical

seizures (described Ref A). This participation is important to TNP

and hopefully will encourage TNP to continue these raids. End note.





4. (U) Commenting on the seizure, Dogan Books General Manager Gulgul

Carkoglu praised the efforts of TNP in going after the pirates, but

complained about the average 2- 5 years for an IPR prosecution to be

brought to conclusion. Carkoglu pointed out the difficulties law

enforcement agencies faced in finding warehouses to keep the seized

material until the cases are finalized. "The Governor's Office

provided a warehouse for this seizure, but otherwise, our printing

house would be asked to pay for the warehouse expenses," said

Carkoglu. Referring to Elif Safak's new bestseller book, Carkoglu

said Dogan Books had printed 130,000 copies of the book in its first

three months, whereas 100,000 pirated copies of it were seized in

this operation.



5. (SBU) Kenan Kocaturk, the owner of Literatur Publications,

pointed out the deficiencies in the court system, where printing

pirated books is not seen as a serious crime. The courts are even

more tolerant when the defendant is a poor street seller, according

to Kocaturk. Kocaturk suggested that the GOT include piracy in the

definition of organized crimes, which would have a strong, deterrent

impact on piracy. Kocaturk claimed there were only a few pirates in

the printing business, whose names were familiar to the sector and

the Ministry of Culture. "If the GOT transferred its banderol

proceeds to the collecting societies for the prevention of piracy, I

am sure we would end this problem," said Kocaturk. Note: As reported

Ref B, the Ministry of Culture plans to transfer day-to-day control

of the banderol process to the collecting societies in the near

future. End note.



6. (SBU) Comment: This TNP seizure, coming after two other major IPR

seizures in the last couple of months, signals an improvement both

in the Turkish law enforcement's capability to detect IPR violations

and its perception of piracy as a crime. This perception, which led

them to use technical surveillance methods normally reserved for

organized crime in going after the pirates, played a major role in

increased seizures. This is a new, significant step forward in



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Turkey's fight against IPR crimes. More work needs to be done,

however, to improve and expedite the judicial process.

End comment.



JEFFREY