Pirated goods hold Turkey back

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Pirated products are a huge problem in the Turkish market, Cahit Suluk says.

While the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2012-213 report saw Turkey rise 16 spots this year to number 43 on the list, Turkey only ranked number 87 out of 144 countries on the protection of intellectual property rights. In fact, Turkey’s ranked even lower than African countries like Uganda, Rwanda and Gambia. Intellectual property rights are one area in which international investors place a great amount of importance when deciding whether or not to invest in a country.

Dr. Cahit Suluk a Turkish lawyer who is an expert on intellectual property rights attributes Turkey’s low ranking to the high level of piracy in the country. 

“The reason Turkey is list so low on the list is the country’s trade in imitation and pirated products. We have to start implementing intellectual property right policies and do this immediately,” he said in a written press release.

This is the first time the World Economic Forum included the United States Patent Office figures in its report. According to these figures, Turkey only received 3.3 points out of a possible 7 points. The top five countries with the best intellectual rights protection were as follows: Finland, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and Holland.