VZCZCXRO3503
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #1674/01 3240658
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200658Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1289
INFO RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 6556
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 4284
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001674 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EEB/TPP/IPE, EUR/SE, INL/C-CP 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR FOR MARK MOWREY AND JENNIFER 
CHOE-GROVES 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USPTO FOR JOELLEN URBAN AND MICHAEL SMITH 
COMMERCE FOR CHERIE RUSNAK AND HILLEARY SMITH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KCRM KIPR ETRD TU
SUBJECT: TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE CONTINUES WAR AGAINST IPR 
VIOLATIONS 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 705 
     ¶B. ANKARA 732 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Following several major seizures of 
IPR-violating goods in April and May (described in reftels), 
the Turkish National Police (TNP) IPR Branch continued its 
stepped-up assault on piracy and counterfeiting with three 
additional raids in June and October.  These netted millions 
of lira worth of pirated material and literally tons of 
counterfeit commercial goods, and led to the arrests of more 
than 150 people.  In all, through the first ten months of 
2009, the TNP has seized over 16.3 million pirated books, 
CDs, and DVDs and nearly 700,000 pieces of counterfeit 
commercial products.  They have also initiated legal 
proceedings against 3129 people.  Despite this success, the 
IPR Branch continues to feel that it is receiving only 
lukewarm support from rights holders, media, and NGOs.  In at 
least one case, the TNP offered to work closely with a U.S. 
firm on a major counterfeit goods operation targeting their 
products and the company turned them down.  Additional 
efforts by the USG to encourage rights holders to work with 
the TNP could lead to more effective partnership and more 
effective enforcement of IPR.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) As described in reftels, the TNP conducted major 
antipiracy operations in April and May.  They followed up on 
this success with another major raid targeting pirated goods 
on June 1, with a raid targeting counterfeit cleaning 
products on October 12, and with an operation against book 
piracy on October 17-18. 
 
Clearing out Pirate Nests, Cleaning Up Fake Cleaning Products 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
¶3. (U) On June 1, TNP IPR Branch officers based in Istanbul 
conducted concurrent raids of 106 addresses in Istanbul 
proper.  These operations seized 2.2 million pieces of 
copyright-violating material and led to the arrest of 62 
criminals.  Police also confiscated 350 pieces of machinery 
used to produce infringing goods. 
 
¶4. (U) On October 12, the TNP concluded a long-term operation 
aimed at eliminating the production of fake cleaning 
products.  TNP officers raided 215 addresses in 18 cities, 
the majority of them in Istanbul.  The following items were 
seized in the Istanbul operations: 
 
-- Chemicals used in the production of counterfeit shampoo, 
including 200 tons of packed detergents, 70 tons of soda, 100 
kg of glue and 55kg of shampoo liquid; 
-- 110,000 fake product labels; 
-- 277,668 packages of fake shampoo, detergent, chewing gum, 
coffee, tea, and hygienic pads; 
-- 43 machines used in the production of counterfeit cleaning 
products; 
-- 23 computers; 
-- 4 guns and 168 shotgun shells; and, 
-- 3 grams of hashish. 
 
¶5. (U) The market value of the seized goods was approximately 
TL 20 million (USD 13.5 million), and 93 people were 
arrested, of whom 50 were held following judicial hearings 
and 43 were released after providing testimony.  The 
Provincial Health Directorate also sealed off a warehouse 
containing fake goods. 
 
¶6. (U) On October 17-18, the TNP returned to anti-piracy 
operations, raiding 4 warehouses and one office in Istanbul. 
The following items were seized: 
 
-- 450,000 books without banderoles produced by international 
publishing houses; 
-- 12,005 books without banderoles produced by local 
publishing houses; 
-- 1.4 million book templates; 
-- 377,450 book covers; 
-- 2,000 cases for book covers; 
-- 6,885 tracing papers; and, 
-- 6 printing machines. 
 
ANKARA 00001674  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
A Good Year for the TNP, but It Still Feels Neglected 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶7. (U) 2009 has been a good year for the TNP IPR Branch.  In 
just ten months, they seized 16.3 million pirated books, 
CDs/DVDs and software and nearly 700,000 individual pieces of 
counterfeit goods. The street value of these products is in 
the hundreds of millions of dollars.  They have also arrested 
and charged 3129 people for violations of copyright and 
trademark laws.  Much of this success comes from a new 
understanding of the cost of counterfeit goods and a new 
willingness to use anti-organized crime laws to facilitate 
pro-IPR investigations (as described in Ref B).  As TNP does 
not have the power to act ex officio solely to prevent 
violations of copyright or trademark laws, however, it is 
still reliant on rights holders filing a formal complaint 
before they can take action. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Despite the success of the unit, they continue to 
feel that they are getting only lukewarm support from the 
private sector.  Gokmen Tekin, Chief of the TNP IPR Office in 
Ankara, has repeatedly complained to us that media gives 
insufficient attention to the seizures and that rights 
holders are quick to complain but slow to praise.  He also 
expressed frustration at the lack of support for specific 
operations.  Over the summer, the TNP had asked for and 
received the Embassy's help in establishing contact with a 
large U.S. commercial goods firm, as TNP was planning a 
months-long operation specifically targeting counterfeiters 
of that company's products.  The company expressed only 
lackluster interest in the operation and was unwilling to 
actively cooperate on pursuing the infringing criminals 
(Comment: To be fair to the company, the TNP had asked that 
they defray the expenses of TNP officers involved in the 
operation, an expense which the company reasonably concluded 
was part of why it pays Turkish taxes.  End comment.) 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment: Active interest in IPR enforcement among 
Turkish agencies is rare enough that it should be encouraged. 
 Post will continue to recommend to rights holders that they 
look to work together with the TNP and that they publicly 
recognize successful TNP operations when they happen.  To the 
extent that U.S.-based USG agencies interact with rights 
holders who are experiencing problems in Turkey, it may be 
helpful to pass along the same message. If funds for 
specialized IPR training become available, the TNP may also 
be a useful focus for further efforts.  End comment. 
 
 
 
JEFFREY 
 
           "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s 
gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"