US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2522

UNCLAS ANKARA 002522 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EB/TPP/MTA/IPE - SWILSON/JURBAN AND EUR/SE DEPT 
PASS USTR FOR JCHOE-GROVES 
DEPT PASS LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FOR STEPP 
DEPT PASS USPTO FOR JURBAN AND EWU 
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/DDEFALCO AND JBOGER 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, KIPR, TU, USTR 
SUBJECT: Special 301:  MFA Disappointed With PWL 
Designation; Response to PhRMA GSP Petition Demarche 
 
REF: (A) State 79058 (B) State 66948 
 
(C) Ankara 2170 and previous 
 
1. (U) Per ref A, Econoff alerted MFA, the Foreign Trade 
Undersecretariat (FTU), the Turkish Patent Institute 
(TPE) and other agencies on April 29 that Turkey would 
remain on the Priority Watch List due to concerns about 
data exclusivity, patent linkage and copyright/trademark 
enforcement.  FTU and TPE had no immediate reaction to 
ref A demarche.  However, on May 2, Meral Barlas, of the 
MFA Americas Department, expressed disappointment with 
the decision and offered comments on our earlier message 
informing the GOT that the Pharmaceuticals Research and 
Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) was considering filing 
a Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) petition 
against Turkey (ref B). 
 
2. (SBU) Barlas said that the Priority Watch List 
designation was disappointing in view of Turkey's recent 
efforts to strengthen its intellectual property regime, 
such as the January 2005 data exclusivity regulation. 
On Zyprexa, Barlas related that MFA had shared ref B 
demarche with other GOT agencies, and summarized their 
reaction.  She noted that Eli Lilly and Abdi Ibrahim 
(AI) disputed which of two forms of olanzapine - only 
one of which is patented in Turkey - is the basis for 
the AI's marketing application.  Barlas stated that 
litigation in this case continued, with Lilly's current 
appeal of an earlier court decision in AI's favor.  On 
ref B's reference to a possible PhRMA petition to limit 
or remove Turkish eligibility for GSP, Barlas contended 
that it was "unfair" to link IP problems with GSP, and 
that bilateral economic relations "cannot benefit" from 
this. 
 
3. (U) Econoff responded that, while Washington 
recognized that Turkey had taken steps to improve the IP 
regime in some areas, we continued to have serious 
concerns about data exclusivity (in that the new 
regulation is so limited as to be largely symbolic) and 
about anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting efforts.  On 
Zyprexa, Econoff underlined the importance of holding 
off on marketing approval for AI's product while the 
courts decide on the case.  He stated that, by U.S. 
statute, GSP benefits are conditioned on observing IP 
criteria, and that failure to meet these criteria has 
limited Turkish eligibility for waivers and additions to 
GSP in the past.  Moreover, Econoff pointed out that the 
USG and U.S. industry have been raising many of the same 
IP issues for years, that the GOT has not responded to 
numerous requests to discuss these issues bilaterally in 
a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) 
meeting, and that U.S. industry's patience was wearing 
thin. 
Edelman