The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in Turkey in the EU Accession Process: A Perception Analysis of the Police Officers Dealing with IPR Crimes

Abstract

Intellectual property rights (IPR) has become one of the most debated issues, particularly in recent years due to its relevance and importance in the intellectual, economic and industrial fields. It is widely accepted that the protection of IPR plays a crucial role in intellectual and technological developments as well as research and development (R&D) activities.

Turkey has been a party to several international treaties and conventions in terms of protection of IPR. While IPR legislations can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire time; the proactive developments with regard to IPR issues were initially expedited within the process of the Customs Union in 1995 and then with the commencement of the European Union (EU) accession negotiations in 2005. Intellectual Property (IP) law is one of the chapters that has to be adopted in accordance with the EU legislations. Therefore, harmonisation of IP law has an important function for Turkey in the EU accession process, but also is a requirement.

In addition to the importance of legislative developments, enforcement of IPR is also essential in terms of preventing piracy and counterfeiting. Therefore, this research aims to explore the enforcement of IPR in Turkey in the EU accession process by focusing on the perceptions of the main enforcers, namely police officers dedicated to deal with IPR-related crimes. In fulfilling the identified aim, apart from the secondary sources such as documents presented in the negotiations with the EU, a questionnaire schedule was administered with the police officers with the objective of gathering primary data. After exploring and analysing various issues related to IPR crimes and its enforcement, the research explores the challenges encountered by the police officers dealing with IPR crimes and then indicates the precautions and recommendations for an effective enforcement system in the fight such crimes.

The main findings of the research indicate that, as perceived by the participants, the fight against IPR crimes should be carried out by specialised IPR units, as anti-piracy commissions are not working satisfactorily; and a single organisation should be established in order to deal with both copyright and industrial property rights. In addition, it is perceived by the majority of the respondents that legislative and administrative measures should be considered in order to overcome the problems related to IPR challenges, and there is a connection between IPR criminals and organised crime groups. Furthermore, the findings suggest that IPR education can be added to the curriculum at schools.

While the Turkish police have made considerable developments with regard to the protection of IPR issues both in administrative and enforcement aspects, the research indicates that there are further issues to be tackled to bring about a more efficient and effective IPR enforcement system in Turkey.