Property rights gain union’s appreciation

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Olav Stokkmo says the federation follows Turkey’s latest amendments.

Efforts by the Professional Union of Press and Publishers (BASYAYBİR) to prevent pirated books have gained appreciation from the chief executive officer of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO).

The president of the federation, Olav Stokkmo, visited Turkey recently and said they were following the latest amendments to laws in the country, adding that the federation felt Turkey should apply the laws of the European Union to publishing. Stokkmo said the federationwas watching Turkey very closely. There must be a cost when universities and education institutions have lent books to the society, he said and this price should be paid to the publishing houses.

If Turkey does not pay any cost to the publishing houses, then the Bern Agreements and EU legislations are not being applied, he said.

According to Stokkmo, each copying should be priced differently. The licensing should be differentiating and classified according to downloading, power points, digital books and so on. The development of digital sources requires new rules and different prices for the respective publishing houses.

Recently BASYAYBİR held operations to obtain pirated books in Turkey. According to data from the union, which conducts operations against pirated books throughout Turkey, 220,000 pirated books were seized in 2012 over 29 provinces.

A total of 5 million Turkish Liras were collected in the raids, according to BASYAYBİR.

During the operations, police discovered a number of books that were about to be published. A number of publishing machines were also confiscated during the operations.

Stokkmo said the federation is supporting the BASYAYBİR and thanked the president of BASYAYBİR, Hasan Hüseyin Doğru, for his efforts.