Turkey starts campaign for local delights

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Baklava is just one traditional item that is disputed between Turkey and Greece.

The Turkish Patent Institute (TPE), which has up to now won geographical indication rights for 147 local products from the European Union, is instituting a campaign to prevent Bulgaria and Greece from registering brand names for Turkish products, according to officials. 

The TPE is ready to support the trade chambers and the non-governmental organizations that demand to register their local goods, Habip Asan, head of the patent body, told Anatolia news agency in a recent interview.

The disputed goods over which Turkey and its neighbors claim geographical indication rights include traditional desserts such as baklava and lokum, as well as the döner kebab, sucuk, tripe and trotter soups and rakı, the aniseed-based alcoholic drink. Both Turkey and Greece also claim rights on Hacivat and Karagöz, the shadow puppet characters. 

“The TPE has managed to register 147 goods up to now, and we are currently evaluating applications for 160 more,” Asan said. 

The European Commission makes the final decision on such applications after an approval by the local patent body. 

The commission is currently considering the rights for Antep Baklava, the dessert famous in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep, and Aydın figs from the Aegean coast, Asan said.