Turkey ranks second in fake goods market

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Fake products market value has increased from $500 million to $1 billion in Turkey in the last 10 years, according to TMD president. DHA photo

Turkey’s Registered Brands Association (TMD) aims to take action against counterfeit products as Turkey has the second-largest fake product market in terms of legal cases.

Turkey has the second-largest market of counterfeit products in the world after China, in terms of legal cases, said Tahsin Özlenir, the president of TMD. Of the almost 8,000 suits to protect brands, 4,000 were filed by TMD.

He said the fake products market value had increased from $500 million to $1 billion in Turkey in the last 10 years, adding that the volume in the world is around $350 billion, 17 percent of global trade. Özlenir said Turkey should take steps on this issue, he added.

TMD’s goal is for police forces to pursue fake products ex-officio in order to evaluate instant notices effectively and to introduce stricter penalties for fake products through new regulations.

However, TMD pointed out that new regulations are needed in the field of “parallel imports.” Özlenir said that particularly as e-commerce developed in Turkey, everyone has become able to buy goods from abroad and sell them. “Fake and original products are mostly mixed in this trade [e-commerce],” he said.