The “Regional Seminar on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights” hosted by the Ministry and organized in collaboration with the Europol Financial Crimes Center was held at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Trade with the participation of international representatives.
Deputy Minister of Trade Sezai Uçarmak, representatives from Europol, Interpol and the European Union Intellectual Property Office, as well as authorized representatives of relevant public administrations from Bulgaria, France, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany and Poland attended the opening of the seminar, the aim of which is to exchange international developments and best country practices in cross-border counterfeit crimes.
In his speech here, Uçarmak said that the ministry is at the heart of protecting intellectual property rights, both for customs administration and other trade areas.
Explaining that as a customs administration, they follow a legal regulation that is parallel to international regulations, Uçarmak said: “We never lag behind international regulations, we apply in our own legislation the same standards accepted by world trade and customs organizations. When claims for infringement of intellectual and industrial property rights are made in accordance with Article 57 of the Customs Law, the customs administration is actively involved in this matter.” he said.
Pointing out that the transactions are completely electronic, Uçarmak explained that companies submit an application and even if there is no application, the transactions can be stopped ex officio in the event of violation of intellectual and industrial property rights.
Uçarmak said the most important way to protect these rights at customs is for the rights holder to pursue the matter.
“The fight against counterfeits at customs continues”
Uçarmak also stated that, according to the Customs Law, the Customs Administration will not directly allow the import of goods that bear a symbol or sign indicating that they were manufactured in a country other than the one in which they were manufactured, or on their internal and external packaging, which gives the impression that they were manufactured in a country other than the one in which they were manufactured, and that this is one of the important practices in terms of intellectual and industrial property rights.
Uçarmak explained that they made important changes to the Electronic Commerce Regulation Law in 2022.
Pointing out that they impose obligations on online shopping platforms and not on the customs administration, Uçarmak said: “If there is a sale that gives rise to intellectual and industrial property rights, if a counterfeit product or brand is sold there, if the legitimate owner applies to the platform, the seller must immediately remove it from the advertisement. There is no need to apply for this in advance to a court or in any other way.” he said.
Uçarmak stated that the fight against customs fraud continues with 160 customs directorates across the country.
Emphasizing that the protection of intellectual and industrial property rights cannot be achieved through the work of customs administrations alone, Uçarmak said that they continue to work at the same pace both nationally and internationally to raise awareness of this issue.
“Collaboration with Türkiye is a must”
Gianluca Sabatino, head of Europol's AP-COPY department, pointed out the importance of fighting together against criminals and criminal organizations.
Sabatino noted that the violation of intellectual and industrial property rights entails severe economic losses, explaining that organized crime groups also benefit from it.
Carmen Parrilla Romero, director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office, also said that intellectual and industrial property infringements are a major problem affecting public safety and the economy.
Romero explained that intellectual property crimes are also linked to organized crime and that organized crime networks also benefit from illegal packaging operations and hybrid production.
Romero emphasized that cooperation with Türkiye in this fight is a necessity, pointing out that strengthening operational ties with Turkish customs, police and market control lenses is important for intellectual property protection.
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