KOSGEB EICC - Newsletter August 1996 / New Export Regime

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY PROTECTION IN TURKEY, TURKISH PATENT INSTITUTE AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

Uður G. YALÇINER
President, Turkish Patent Institute

In the year 1995, Turkey has conducted necessary legislative studies to establish an efficient and contemporary industrial property system and obtained very important concrete results. In this Article, the previous (before 1995) and present situation in Turkey related to industrial property protection are explained.

Legal Basis of Industrial Property Protection in Turkey Before 1995 :

The legal basis for granting of patent rights in Turkey was the patent Law of March 23, 1879 before June 27, 1995. This Law was based on the French patent law, existing at that time. The previous Law of 1879 must, in view of its age and of developments in the field of patent legislation since that time, be regarded as not corresponding to modern trends in that field as shown in recent patent laws enacted in a number of countries, in particular in Western Europe. It provided for a system of mere registration of patents without prior examination as to substance. This system foreseen in the Law was, however, no longer applied in its original form. Patent law stayed in force between 1879 and 1995 excluded patent protection of pharmaceutical processes and products for human beings and animals. Agrochemical processes and products and all other inventions were under protection.

Protection of trademarks has been started in Turkey in the year 1871. Until June 27, 1995 the legal basis for the registration of trademarks in Turkey was constituted by Law No: 551 of March 3, 1965. This Law being rather recent was modern in its concepts and took account international developments in that field of legislation which have occurred until that time. Under that trademark Law stayed in force between 1965 and 1995, service marks couldn't be protected.

There was no special legislation for protection of industrial designs and geographical signs in Turkey until June 27, 1995. Since Turkey had no special legislation on the issue, judiciary has shown great awareness of the need to provide protection through copyright, trademark, unfair competition and jurisprudence.

Administration of Industrial property legislation containing only trademark and patent protection was being conducted by a department in the Ministry of Industry and Trade until June 24, 1994.

Turkey was party to London Act of Paris Convention and the Convention Establishing World Intellectual Property Organisation in the field of industrial property protection.

Elements of the Industrial Property Protection System :

Protection of industrial property rights in a country is an important factor in encouraging the invention activities, application of new technologies to industry, increasing foreign investment and supporting national and international trade.

Efficient and strong protection of industrial property rights in a country can be supplied by establishing a system containing;

a government authority to conduct all the administrative works related to industrial property rights,
legal status of the attorneys to represent the applicants,
laws in the international standards and accession to related International Agreements/Treaties,
special courts.

All these elements must exist without missing any one and work efficiently. Otherwise the system cannot work.

Turkey has aimed to establish an efficient and strong industrial property system by realising all its elements in 1994, and reached to its aims as described below.

Modern Industrial Property Protection Legislation Entered into Force in 1994 and 1995 :

In the field of industrial property protection 2 Laws, 6 Decree Laws, 2 Decrees and 5 Regulations (totally 13 Regulations including internal regulations of TPI) have entered into force in Turkey in 1994 and 1995. These are;

Decree Law No: 544 Dated June 24, 1994 for Establishment and Functions of Turkish Patent Institute,
Decree No: Dated October 25, 1994 for Accession to Stockholm Act of Paris Convention,
Decree Law No: 551 Dated June 27, 1995 for Protection of Patent Rights,
Decree Law No: 554 Dated June 27, 1995 for Protection of Industrial Designs,
Decree Law No: 555 Dated June 27, 1995 for Protection of Geographical Indications,
Decree Law No: 556 Dated June 27, 1995 for Protection of Trademarks,
Law No: 4115 Dated July 7, 1995 for Accession to Patent Co-operation Treaty,
Decree No: 95/7094 Dated July 12, 1995 for Accession to NICE, VIENNA and STRASBOURG Agreements,
Decree Law 566 Dated September 22, 1995 for Amendment of the Transition Period of Patent Protection of Pharmaceutical and Veterinary Products and Processes,
·
Law No: 4128 Dated November 7, 1995 for Addition of Penal Provisions to the Decree Laws No: 551, 554, 555 and 556
·
Implementing Regulation for Application of the Decree Law for Protection of Patent Rights Dated November 5, 1995,
·
Implementing Regulation for Application of the Decree Law for Protection of Trademarks Dated November 5, 1995,
·
Implementing Regulation for Application of the Decree Law for Protection of Industrial Designs Dated November 5, 1995,
·
Implementing Regulation for Application of the Decree Law for Protection of Geographical Signs Dated November 5, 1995,
·
Publication Regulation of Turkish Patent Institute Dated November 5, 1995,

Turkish Patent Institute (TPI) :

Turkey has established a special government authority having administrative and financial autonomy named Turkish Patent Institute for administration of industrial property rights. Turkish Patent Institute has been established in June 24, 1994 with the Decree Law 544, in order to,

perform registration pursuant to provisions of relevant Acts of industrial property rights protected by law and carry out procedures for protection of such rights,
act as mediator in the performance of license transactions as an expert before Courts,
register license agreements and assignment transactions,
monitor use of inventions, perform procedures necessary for the guidance of technological transfers, evaluation of new technologies and fill and collect archives,
cooperage with international institutions and with other institutions abroad of similar constitution,
with the approval of the concerned Ministry, represent the country before international institutions,
contribute with a view to protecting interests of the country in preparation of international agreements regarding industrial property rights and ensures application within the country of such entered into agreements,
exert efforts to ensure co-operation with institutions and establishments active in the fields of technological research and development and with data banks, either home or abroad, set up documentation centers, submit such data and information to the benefit of the public,
issue various publications pertinent to industrial property rights and publish periodically the Turkish Industrial Property Gazette,
conduct activities for the guidance and information of persons and institutions at home in the field of industrial property rights.

Establishment of Turkish Patent Institute to perform the tasks described above is one of the important steps in the development of Turkish industrial property system. The strength of the industrial property system covering patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical signs ... etc. is directly related to the performance of the procedures of registration and preparation of documentation for information in the fields of industrial property rights.

Turkish Patent Institute to be connected to the Ministry of Industry and Trade employs at present 115 personnel totally. The number of personnel will be increased up to 209 with high quality experts.

Turkish Patent Institute realises the necessary protective function of industrial property rights in Turkey. This is the classical and best organised function of the institute. The Institute performs information function by keeping systematised and convenient collections of national and international documents related to industrial property.

The Decree Law 544 Dated June 24, 1994 for Establishment and Functions of Turkish Patent Institute has special provisions for selection, assignment and registration of the patent, trademark and industrial design attorneys.

International Agreements/Conventions/Treaties in the Field of Industrial Property :

The International Agreements/Conventions/Treaties related to industrial property are;

PARIS Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property,
Convention Establishing World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT),
STRASBOURG Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification (IPC),
MADRID Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks,
PROTOCOL Relating to MADRID Agreement,
NICE Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of Registration of Marks,
VIENNA Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks,
THE HAGUE Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs,
LOCARNO Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs,
Trademark Law Treaty (TLT),
BUDAPEST Agreement on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Micro-organisms for The Purposes of Patent Procedure,

Establishment Date, Number of Parties and Turkey's position for each International Agreement/Convention/Treaty are shown in the following Table.

TABLE. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND TURKEY'S POSITION

NAME	ESTAB. DATE	# OF PARTIES	TURKEY'S POSITION (February 1995)
PARIS CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY	1883	136	YES (Since 1925)
CONVENTION ESTABLISHING WIPO	1967	157	YES (Since 1976)
PATENT CO-OPERATION TREATY (PCT)	1970	83	YES (Since January 1, 1996)
STRASBOURG AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE INTERNATIONAL PATENT CLASSIFICATION (IPC)	1971	31	YES (shall enter into force on October 1, 1996)
MADRID AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION OF MARKS	1891	46	NO
BUDAPEST AGREEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF THE DEPOSIT OF MICRO-ORGANISMS FOR THE PURPOSES OF PATENT PROCEDURE	1977	35	Participation will be before 1999
PROTOCOL RELATING TO MADRID AGREEMENT	1996	-	Participation will be before 1999
NICE AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF GOODS AND SERVICES FOR THE PURPOSES OF REGISTRATION OF MARKS	1957	45	YES (Since January 1, 1996)
VIENNA AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE FIGURATIVE ELEMENTS OF MARKS	1973	6	YES (Since January 1, 1996)
TRADEMARK LAW TREATY (TLT)	1994	-	Signed and studies for ratification is continuing
THE HAGUE AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE INTERNATIONAL DEPOSIT OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS	1925	25	Participation will be after 1996
LOCARNO AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION FOR INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS	1968	24	Participation will be after 1996

Conclusions :

Efficient protection of industrial property rights is very important for the industry and trade of the countries. Turkey has conducted a very serious work and obtained very concrete results in establishing a new and contemporary industrial property system in 1994 and 1995. The main reason for these studies is the benefits of Turkey's own industry and economy and the estimated gains in its national and international trade. Due to these reasons Turkey has adopted its national legislation and made it not only fully compatible but also more strict, better and more effective than TRIPS standards before than most of the developed and all of the developing countries.

The Turkish industrial property protection system containing establishment of all the elements of industrial property system which has been realised in 1994 and 1995 called as Turkish industrial property revolution. This revolution containing entry into force of new legislation in the fields of patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical signs, and accession of Turkey to the International Agreements/Treaties such as Patent Co-operation Treaty, NICE, VIENNA and STRASBOURG Agreements and Stockholm Act of PARIS Convention created a very good environment for investment and technology transfer.

For further information:
Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade
Emek, Ankara - Turkey
Tel: 90-312-212 87 42
Fax: 90-312-212 16 22