International Activities

Int’l Committee trip to Istanbul, Turkey

The international 4th Committee sent an investigation team consisting of 6 members to Istanbul, Turkey during November 17-62, 2014. This is the 1st time for our Association to send an investigation team to Turkey.

Although Turkey is known for tourism and as a pro-Japanese country, the situation of intellectual property is not necessarily known because of unpublished statistic data such as the number of litigation cases and thus it is actually difficult to make a proper IP strategy. Therefore, the purpose of the present investigation team was to understand the Turkey-specific IP system, particularly to have an organized understanding of the legal system and its actual situation with a focus on the patent law, and to grasp the realities of the system as well as the actual situation of enforcement to thereby clarify points to be noted in the acquisition and enforcement of rights in Turkey. That is, it was to obtain "live information on Turkish IP" which could help Japanese companies expand their business and enhance their competitiveness.

Visited organizations

Turkey Patent Office, Istanbul IP court, Ankara IP court, Izmir IP court, Ankara Customs, JETRO Istanbul, Istanbul Patent & Trademark Consultancy Ltd., Destek Patent Inc, Deriş Patents and Trademark Agency A.Ş., Ankara Patent, Halitligil & Ark Patent and Trademark Consultancy

The organizations which the team visited were very friendly and helpful in responding to our requests, and the team was able to collect information which could not be obtained only by literature researches and other means in Japan.
Particularly, with Turkey's prospects for membership in the EU improving, the team was able to investigate and confirm the constitution and actual situation of the IP-related laws of this country, as well as the operational status of the IP-related laws in Turkey under such circumstances. Besides, we were able to know that they are prepared to enhance their efforts in an active operation of the IP laws.

Details of the investigation will be reported in the future by way of special workshops and documentation.

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