US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2733

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 002733 
 
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: NEW IPR CERTIFICATION REGULATION TO HELP COMBAT 
PIRACY 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1. (SBU) The GOT issued a new certification regulation 
last month, requiring all businesses involved in the 
recording, sale, reproduction and distribution of 
copyright materials to be certified from the Ministry of 
Culture and Tourism (MOCT).  The regulation also imposes 
a Source Identification (SID) Code requirement on 
production and recording facilities.  The new MOCT 
Acting Copyrights Director General said the new 
regulation was a significant tool for the GOT in its 
efforts to curb piracy.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) The Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a 
new certification regulation on April 18, which imposes 
a certification requirement on businesses undertaking 
distribution, recording, reproduction and sale of 
materials containing intellectual property and works of 
art.  The regulation also defines SID codes and requires 
production and recording facilities to submit SID code 
information in their certificate applications. 
Production and recording facilities are given a special 
status in the regulation, and will be subject to an 
inspection by the Ministry and related professional 
associations prior to the issuance of certificates. 
These facilities will also be required to inform the 
Ministry about changes in activity, equipment and 
capacity, and to include their SID code information in 
the materials they produce.  The MOCT's provincial 
directorates will issue and renew certificates, as well 
as audit the facilities.  The Ministry will be able to 
cancel certificates of businesses if, at any point, it 
detects a divergence from the activities contained in 
the certificate application. 
 
3. (SBU) The new Ministry of Culture and Tourism 
Copyrights Department Acting Director General Tahsin 
Yilmaz told Econoff and Econ Specialist on May 4 that 
the MOCT was disappointed that Turkey remained on the 
U.S. Special 301 Priority Watch List for 2005.  Yilmaz 
maintained that the certification regulation would make 
a significant contribution to the Ministry's efforts to 
control piracy.  Yilmaz said a total of 200,000 
businesses would receive certificates with this 
regulation and would be included in the Ministry of 
Culture's database.  The Ministry of Culture has already 
placed computers in the provincial directorates in all 
cities and established a network connection with the 
Ministry, so that the Ministry can instantly track the 
new certificates issued for businesses throughout 
Turkey.  Yilmaz pointed out the special status given to 
the production and recording facilities in this 
regulation, and said the certification and auditing 
mechanisms would dramatically improve the Ministry's 
ability to combat pirate production. 
 
4. (SBU) Begin Text International Intellectual Property 
Alliance (IIPA) Translation of Certification Regulation: 
From: The Ministry of Culture and Tourism: 
Regulation on the Certification of Businesses 
Undertaking the Distribution or the Recording, 
Reproduction and Sale of Materials on which Intellectual 
Property and Works of Art are Fixed 
Aim 
Article  1 - This regulation aims to lay down principles 
and  procedures for the certification on a  reimbursable 
basis  by  the  Ministry of the business premises  which 
produce,  import  or record on, reproduce  and  sell  or 
distribute and present to the public through any  means, 
materials  used  in  the  fixing  and  reproduction   of 
intellectual property and works of art, with a  view  to 
protecting   and  effectively  monitoring   intellectual 
property rights. 
Scope 
Article  2 - This regulation entails the principles  and 
procedures for certification and the obligations of  the 
premises to which certificates shall be issued. 
Basis 
Article 3 - This regulation has been developed based  on 
the  amended Article 44 and additional Article 10 of Law 
No. 5846 on Intellectual Property and Works of Art dated 
5.12.1951. 
Definitions 
Article  4  - Definitions used in this regulation  shall 
have the following meanings; 
Ministry: Culture and Tourism Ministry, 
Law: Law No. 5846 on Intellectual Property and Works  of 
Art dated 5.12.1951, 
Recording  Facility  (Production Plant):  Premises  with 
technical equipment where fixing is applied to cassettes 
in  the  form  of magnetic spools of tape  or  digitally 
fixed  through  means of injection on  fixing  materials 
such  as  CDs,  VCDs and DVDs reproduced from  specially 
produced moulds. 
SID  code:  Source  identification code  given  by  IFPI 
(International   Federation   of   Phonogram   Industry) 
enabling  the  identification of premises producing  and 
recording  on  fixing materials such as  CDs,  VCDs  and 
DVDs. 
Carrying material: Materials such as cassettes, computer 
diskettes, CDs, VCDs, DVDs and the like, 
Chain  company: Businesses with ten or more branches  in 
the country they are operating, 
Small business: Premises employing between one and forty- 
nine employees, 
Medium sized business: Premises employing between  fifty 
and two hundred and fifty employees, 
Large   business:  Premises  employing  more  than   250 
employees, 
Mandatory Certification 
Article  5  -  Business premises producing or  importing 
materials  used for fixing and reproducing  intellectual 
property  and  works of art, those which fix,  reproduce 
and  sell these materials or distribute them and present 
them  to  the public through any means are obligated  to 
obtain a certificate from the Ministry certifying  their 
activity. 
a)   Premises  producing,  importing,  distributing   or 
selling empty fixing materials, 
b)  Recording  facilities  undertaking  the  fixing  and 
reproduction   of  productions  entailing   intellectual 
property and works of art, 
c)  Printing  houses  and  publishers  which  reproduce, 
distribute  or sell intellectual property and  works  of 
art, 
d)  Movie theatres and similar places undertaking public 
display and transmission of cinematographic films, 
e)  Premises undertaking sale, distribution, importation 
and  marketing of intellectual property and works of art 
and  fixing  materials concerning productions  entailing 
intellectual property and works of art through any means 
and  techniques including digital transmission and those 
that rent these out. 
Certification 
Article   6  -  Certification  is  undertaken   by   the 
provincial   culture  and  tourism   directorates.   All 
business  premises  requesting  certification  apply  by 
attaching to the application form they will obtain  from 
the  culture  and tourism directorates of the  provinces 
they are operating in a notarised copy of their business 
operating  licence,  a bank transfer voucher  indicating 
the   payment  of  the  certification  fee;  and   those 
businesses   that   rent   out  reproduced   copies   of 
intellectual  property  and  works  of  art   apply   by 
attaching  to  their application form  an  authorisation 
document indicating the transfer of rental rights. 
The   application   form  shall   have   the   following 
information; 
a)  The  name of the business premise and its authorised 
official and contact information, 
b)  Operating  licence number issued by the  Chamber  of 
Commerce or Chamber of Small Businesses, 
c) Tax number, 
d)  For premises producing or fixing CDs, VCDs, DVDs and 
the like: 
SID Code, 
e) and other information that may be deemed necessary by 
the Ministry, 
Other   documents  the  Ministry  may  request  relevant 
unions, associations and the like to provide may also be 
requested during the application for certification. 
Premises  operating within the state enterprises  or  in 
public or private educational institutes will only  have 
to  provide  a copy of the operating licence granted  by 
the relevant body and a bank transfer voucher indicating 
the certification fee has been paid. 
A  joint application can be lodged in the case of  chain 
businesses for branches in the same province, however, a 
separate  certificate on a reimbursable basis  shall  be 
provided for each branch of the business. 
In  the event of the reproduced copies of a work of  art 
being  sold  by  the  author of the  work  there  is  no 
requirement for a certificate. 
Both  premises that have been certified and the  authors 
of  the  works  in question cannot sell these  works  in 
locations banned by article 81 of the Law. 
In  the  event of a change in address, field of activity 
or  line  of  business,  the existing  certificates  are 
returned and new certificates are obtained. Certificates 
are  produced to bear the names of the holders  and  are 
non-transferable. 
Certificate  features  and  the  information  they  must 
entail 
Article  7  -  In the certificates to be issued  by  the 
Ministry  the name and address of the business  premise, 
the  name  surname  or  title  of  the  proprietor,  the 
business tax number, the business field of activity, the 
type  of certificate, its date of issue and validity  as 
well as the number of the certificate are indicated. The 
said  certificates  are renewed in  every  three  years. 
Documents indicated in Article 6 of this Regulation  are 
produced during renewal of certification. 
Obligations of certified premises 
Article 8 - Certified premises are obligated to; 
a)   to   indicate  the  certificate   number   on   the 
introductory  page  of the non-periodical  publications, 
fixing materials and digital transmission medium, 
b)  display the certificates in a prominent location  in 
the business premise, 
c)  write  down the certificate number on  invoices  and 
delivery vouchers, 
d) produce certificates and other relevant documentation 
during inspections, 
e)  In  case of direct sales to have sales personnel  or 
distribution  vehicles have a copy  of  the  certificate 
approved  and  stamped  by the  provincial  culture  and 
tourism directorate. 
Special provisions concerning fixing facilities 
Article  9  - Those fixing facilities where intellectual 
property  and works of art are fixed and reproduced  are 
located in Istanbul shall obtain their certificates from 
the  Copyrights  and  Cinematography  Directorate  while 
those  in  other provinces shall obtain theirs from  the 
General  Directorate  of Copyrights and  Cinematography. 
For  these  facilities  to  obtain  a  certificate,   in 
addition  to those listed in Article 6, they  must  also 
produce the following: 
a)  Report from either the Industry and Trade Provincial 
Directorate   or   the   Turkish   Standards   Institute 
indicating  their  capacity  and  that  they  have   the 
necessary technical equipment, 
b)  An  itemised list of the technical equipment at  the 
premises  as well as copies of invoices or sale transfer 
documents of the same, 
c) SID code document. 
Following  the lodging of an application with the  above 
mentioned documents a commission formed by the  Ministry 
comprising    at    least   three   members    including 
representatives  from  the  Ministry  and  the  relevant 
professional associations shall conduct an inspection to 
ascertain  that  the premises have quality  control  and 
test  units  and in the event of determining  compliance 
with the necessary requirements grant the certificate to 
the fixing facility. 
In    addition    to   their   obligations    concerning 
certification,   the  recording  facilities   are   also 
obligated  to  inform  the General  Directorate  of  all 
changes  in the type of activity, equipment and capacity 
within  ten  days  and to place the  SID  code  and  the 
certificate numbers on the fixing materials. 
Exhibitions and fairs, festivals and similar activities 
Article  10  -  In  the event premises which  have  been 
certified within the provisions of this regulation  open 
stands  at  fairs,  festivals and  areas  where  similar 
activities  are  organised for the  sale  of  books  and 
fixing  materials  entailing intellectual  property  and 
works   of  art,  they  may  undertake  sale  activities 
throughout  the  opening period  of  the  festivals  and 
certified fairs while for a maximum of ten days at other 
such  activities. In order to do this,  a  copy  of  the 
certificate  approved  and  stamped  by  the  provincial 
culture and tourism directorate indicating the name  and 
date of the activity in question shall be displayed at a 
prominent location in the stand throughout the activity. 
No extra fees are charged for this procedure. 
Types of Certificates and Fees 
Article 11 - Types of certificates are determined by the 
Ministry  by  taking  into  consideration  the   fixing, 
reproduction, rental and distribution activities. 
The  certificate  fees for premises undertaking  fixing, 
reproduction,  rental and distribution activities  shall 
be  determined  by  the  Ministry.  This  fee  shall  be 
calculated   by  multiplying  the  government   employee 
monthly  salary  coefficient by the government  employee 
basic salary indicators between (1000) and (5000). 
The  said fees are deposited in the Ministry of  Culture 
and Tourism Central Accountancy Account and credited  as 
revenue   to   the  general  budget.  Necessary   budget 
allowances  to  meet  costs  of  printing  certificates, 
activities  and procedures concerning the  certification 
procedure  as  well  as  the fight against  intellectual 
piracy are included in the budget. 
Inspections  concerning certificate  implementation  and 
sanctions 
Article 12 - The inspection of whether premises that are 
obligated  to  obtain a certificate in  accordance  with 
this  regulation  have done so is  undertaken  by  local 
authorities in the provinces while the inspection of the 
fixing facilities is undertaken by the Ministry. 
Local  authorities impose administrative fines indicated 
in  the additional Article 10.1.2 of the Law on premises 
determined  as a result of inspections to  be  operating 
without having obtained the obligatory certificates. 
The  fact  that a fine has been paid does not  eliminate 
the obligation to obtain the certification. 
Annulment of the certification 
Article  13  -  In the event it is determined  that  the 
certified facilities no longer meet the requirements for 
obtaining   certificates  the   certificates   of   such 
facilities are annulled by the Ministry. 
Moreover,  in  the event there exists a finalised  court 
conviction  arising  from  having  violated   the   law, 
certificates  of  such  premises  are  annulled  upon  a 
notification made to the Ministry by the rights  owners, 
professional  associations  of  the  relevant  field  of 
activity or local authorities. 
Provisional   Article  1  -  Premises   and   facilities 
obligated to obtain a certificate per provisions of this 
regulation   and  those  that  have  formerly   received 
recording facility adequacy certificate are obligated to 
obtain a certificate within six months of the date  this 
regulation comes into force. 
Validity 
Article 14- -This regulation which has been developed by 
receiving  inputs  from  the  Ministry  of  Finance  and 
Financial Court of Appeals shall go into effect  on  the 
date of its publication. 
Execution 
Article  15  -  The  provisions of this  regulation  are 
executed by the Minister of Culture and Tourism. 
 
Edelman