What We Do

Counterfeit, imitation and smuggled product trade, which is the subject of intellectual property theft, threatens fundamental elements such as economy and health on a global scale. Before explaining the trade of imitation, counterfeit and smuggled products, which is the subject of intellectual property theft, it is necessary to explain intellectual property rights; products subject to intellectual property rights are divided into two groups as intellectual and artistic works, namely copyrights, and products subject to industrial property rights, primarily trademarks, patents and designs.

Copyrights consist of four main categories. These are; scientific and literary works, including software, musical works, works of fine art, cinema works.

Copyrights are generally defined as moral, economic and mixed powers and are defined as the exclusive rights of the author over his work.

However, in addition to the author, actors such as publishing houses and producers who play a role in the delivery of the works to the consumer are also protected with copyrights.

Industrial property rights, on the other hand, are a superordinate concept that primarily covers rights such as patents, brands and designs, but also leave the production, sale and sale of products bearing distinctive names and signs such as trademarks and trade names to the monopoly of the right holders for certain periods of time.

A brand is defined as a sign that distinguishes the goods and services of a business from those of other businesses. Trademarks, which can be any group of signs and signs such as names, letters, figures and color combinations, grant their owners exclusive rights for use, while preventing others from using these signs or similar ones on the same or similar products without permission. However, the area where intellectual property theft is most intense is again trademark violations.

A patent is defined as a document granted by the relevant institution to the owner of a product that is applicable to industry, is new and contains an inventive step, for a certain period of time, and grants the exclusive right to allow the invention to be produced by others and to prevent unauthorized production.

Design is defined as the whole of various elements or features perceived by human senses, such as line, shape, form, color, texture, material or flexibility, of a product or a part thereof or an ornament on the product.

Despite the existence of necessary national and international legal regulations for the protection of intellectual property rights, today, according to the estimates of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), the trade in imitation, counterfeit and fake products is over 500 billion dollars worldwide. In Turkey, although the trade in imitation, counterfeit and smuggled products is estimated to be over 20 billion dollars, these estimates are much lower than the truth due to the lack of sufficient awareness studies on intellectual property rights and the inability to effectively combat the sale of imitation products.

First of all; The trade of counterfeit, fake and smuggled products, which are widely produced and sold in almost every field, including medicines, food and beverages, clothing, alcoholic beverages, automotive and component systems, electrical appliances and electronic products, tobacco products, fuel, perfumes, cosmetics and personal care products, causes irreparable damage in the field of health and employment in addition to economic damage.

In addition to the economic effects of the trade of counterfeit, fake and smuggled products, these products made of low-quality, inappropriate and substandard materials pose serious health and safety risks to human health. So much so that, even if counterfeit, smuggled and fake products are perceived as innocent in the eyes of the consumer, 3000 people lose their lives annually in the G20 countries alone due to counterfeit and fake consumer products.

One of the most important economic impacts of production activities aimed at counterfeit and fake products is employment, and due to the existence of such production activities, employment is shifted from companies that own rights to companies that violate rights and generally have worse working conditions.

In addition, they are produced by undocumented and unregistered workers, in other words, with slave labor, in dangerous working conditions, devoid of any security, including job security. This situation is also valid if the counterfeit products in question are luxury products. In addition, if the counterfeit and fake products are not produced in the national economy but come from abroad, it results in the employment area being completely shifted to other countries, especially third world countries.