US embassy cable - 04ANKARA2031

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002031 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EB, EB/TPP/MTA/IPC AND EUR/SE 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR FOR BPECK/LERRION 
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/DDEFALCO 
DEPT PASS LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
DEPT PASS USPTO FOR ELAINE WU 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, KIPR, TU 
SUBJECT: New Intellectual Property Legislation Enters 
into Force 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
 
Ref: Ankara 977 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
 
1. (U) Legislation enacted in March contains several 
strong anti-piracy provisions, including a ban on street 
sales of all copyright products and authorization for 
law enforcement authorities to take action without a 
complaint by the rightholder.  However, some in the 
intellectual property industries are unhappy with 
reduced sanctions for pirates to non-deterrent levels. 
The Culture Ministry informed us that they have 
coordinated closely with law enforcement authorities on 
the law's application, and that sweeps aimed at pirates 
have begun in Ankara.  The music industry has succeeded 
in boosting collection of certain royalty payments. 
Philip Morris claims that counterfeiting of its products 
is a growing problem.  End Summary. 
 
 
New Intellectual Property Legislation 
------------------------------------- 
 
 
2. (U) Law 5101, published in the March 12 State 
Gazette, amends earlier legislation on copyright, 
cinema, municipalities and broadcasting with the 
intention of suppressing piracy.  IPR industry sources 
highlight the following features of the new law: 
 
 
-- A ban on street sales of all copyright products, 
including legal ones.  This should not only suppress 
sale of unauthorized works, but should also reduce the 
scope of the unregistered economy by making it more 
difficult to sell even legitimate works without paying 
tax; 
 
 
-- Authorizing all law enforcement units, as well as the 
armed forces and municipalities, to make ex officio 
seizures of materials; 
 
 
-- Abolition of the (mostly ineffective) provincial 
inspection committees previously charged with IPR 
enforcement.  However, committees in Ankara, Izmir and 
Istanbul will continue to operate; 
 
 
-- Application of organized crime legislation and 
sanctions to some forms of piracy; 
 
 
-- Amendments removing penal provisions from the Cinema 
Law.  Judges have generally applied the Cinema Law, with 
penalties weaker than those in the Intellectual and 
Artistic Works Law, in piracy cases. 
 
 
-- Reduced penalties, although in cases of recidivism, 
the prison terms and fines cannot be suspended.  The GOT 
maintains that there was no alternative to reduced 
penalties as Turkish judges refused to apply the strict 
sanctions in previous legislation.  Film industry 
representatives believe the new law's penalties are not 
deterrent. 
 
 
-- The law also contains provisions on royalties to be 
paid by broadcasters and by public premises such as 
hotels and bars, as well as on Internet-based piracy. 
State-operated Turkish Radio and Television will benefit 
from provisions which do not allow rightholders to 
refuse permission to broadcast their works upon regular 
payment of royalties. 
 
 
3. (U) Post will forward an English language translation 
of the law when it becomes available. 
 
 
Enforcement Starting 
-------------------- 
 
 
4. (SBU) In an April 6 meeting with Econoff and Econ 
Specialist, Abdurrahman Celik, the Culture Ministry's 
General Director for Copyright and Cinema, and his 
Deputy Gunay Gormez, told us that the Ministry had 
briefed and coordinated extensively with other GOT 
agencies on the new law, and that enforcement of the ban 
on street sales has already begun.  Gormez stated that 
the Interior Ministry issued a circular to police and 
coast guard units around the country on March 31 
summarizing provisions of the new law.  The Culture 
Ministry is also working on a series of seminars for law 
enforcement officials in 10 provinces, as well as a six- 
month public awareness campaign.  Both are to begin in 
late April. 
 
 
5. (SBU) Celik told us that, in the first street sweeps 
under the new law on April 5, 98 individuals were 
arrested in Ankara.  In these raids, 27,000 compact 
disks and 4,000 books were confiscated.  He advised that 
enforcement in Istanbul would follow shortly.  Gormez 
predicted that open street sales of pirated merchandise 
should be eliminated within about a month. 
 
 
Industry Reaction 
----------------- 
 
 
6. (SBU) Representatives of the IPR industries have 
generally viewed the legislation as a positive step, and 
were hopeful that enforcement would be effective. 
AMPEC, which is affiliated with the Motion Picture 
Association, however, is critical of reduced sanctions 
contained in the new legislation and believes they are 
not a serious deterrent.  AMPEC's General Manager also 
pointed out that the law forces rightholders to work 
through professional associations in collecting 
royalties from hotels, restaurants and other public 
places, but noted that this is more an issue for the 
music than the film industry.  In early March, the 
Managing Director of Oxford University Press opined that 
the law looked helpful, but expressed doubt that it 
could be effectively enforced given that Turkish judges 
do not view piracy as a serious crime.  Microsoft's Anti- 
Piracy manager praised the fact that piracy has become a 
"public crime", enabling law enforcement authorities to 
make seizures without a complaint from the rightholder. 
The President of MU-YAP (the Turkish Phonographic 
Industry Society and affiliate of the International 
Federation of the Phonographic Industry) told us he 
would work in support of GOT implementation of the new 
law, particularly its enforcement. 
 
 
Other Issues 
------------ 
 
 
7. (U) Royalty Collections:  In early March, MU-YAP told 
us that the organization had succeeded in collecting 
about USD 2 million in 2003 from broadcasters, up from 
virtually nothing a few years ago.  According to press 
reports, MU-YAP, working in concert with other 
professional music associations, has succeeded in 
compelling a host of large Turkish and international 
retailers and restaurants to pay royalties on music 
played in their premises by launching court cases 
against them.  U.S. companies which have agreed to pay 
royalties in Turkey include McDonald's, Pizza Hut, 
Kentucky Fried Chicken and Toys'R Us. 
 
 
8. (U) Cigarette Counterfeiting:  Philip Morris 
representatives recently told us that counterfeiting of 
their cigarettes, mainly by Chinese exporters, was a 
growing problem.  The company estimates that around 2 
billion cigarettes in its brands were counterfeited in 
2003.  (Note:  Annual sales for the company in Turkey 
are estimated at 38 to 40 billion cigarettes this year.) 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
 
9. (U) On balance, the new legislation can be considered 
a step forward in IPR protection, but the principal 
issue is effective enforcement.  GOT training, as well 
as an upcoming U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seminar 
on enforcement, should be helpful in this area.  In 
addition, the complete ban on sales of books, films and 
music on Turkish streets, combined with public crime 
provisions in the new law, should make enforcement 
relatively easier for the authorities and should make 
life a bit more difficult for pirates.  Edelman