TÜRKİYE'NİN GÜMRÜK BİRLİĞİ'NE GİRİŞİNİN FİKRİ VE SINAİ HAKLAR ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİLERİ

Abstract

Turkey made an official application on July 31, 1959 for initiating accession negotiations to the European Economic Community. The agreement regarding the establishment of partnership between the European Economic Union and Turkey, was signed on September 12, 1963 and entered into force on December 1, 1964. With the partnership agreement, in the first phase it was aimed to establish the customs union. Also, strengthening commercial and economic relations and ensuring fast development of the Turkish economy were among the purposes mentioned in the agreement. The partnership consisted of three phases. These included the preparation phase, transition phase and the final phase. The final phase, Turkey's entrance to the Customs Union, was based on the decision dated December 22, 1995 with serial number 1195 of the European Community- Turkey Partnership Council. The mentioned decision was not an agreement in the sense of International Law and has not yet taken its final structure. This decision includes not only the free circulation of goods, elimination of customs tax, adoption of similar trade policies, a common customs tariff and the application of preferred tariff policies, but has also included arrangements for conformity of laws in intellectual property rights. Effective protection of intellectual and industrial rights has been clearly mentioned in the decision (article 3111). Turkey's accession to the Customs Union has caused a striking legal reform in the field of Law on Intellectual and Industrial Property. Many Decree Laws have been enforced in order to make a rapid harmonization with the Law of European Union. The Decree Law numbered 551 on Protection of Patent Rights has abolished the Patent Law dated 1879. The Brands Law dated 1965 was abolished with the Decree Law numbered 556 on Protection of Brands. Also, with two separate Decree Laws, industrial designs (Decree Law numbered 554) and geographic signs (Decree Law numbered 555) have been put into force. The mentioned Decree Laws are all based on the same Authority Law. Important amendments were made in 1995 to the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works dated 1951. Computer programs were included in the protection of the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works. Adjacent rights (=related rights) were recognized by the lawmaker. The period of protection was extended to 70 years, the principle of consuming rights was accepted and legal and criminal cases were re-formulated. European Union regulations were taken as basis in the mentioned amendments. The effect of European regulations and rules are especially evident in the Turkish Brands Law. The first regulation of the European Union Commission, regarding the Harmonization of Arrangements on Brand Laws in Member States, dated December 21, 1988 with serial number 89/104 and the Rules of the Commission regarding Partnership Brand, dated December 20, 1993 with serial number 40/94, has found wide field of application in the Decree Law on Protection of Brands. The mentioned effects are especially visible in causes of relative and absolute denial, brand types, and provisions regarding the use and protection of brands. Formal and service brands are also new for the Turkish Legal system. The facts that lead to the Decree Law on Protection of Patent Rights are a bit different. The reform works go back to 1988; thus, this law carries the traits of the Munich Patent Agreement dated 1973, the German Patent Law amended in 1991, the German Law on Useful Model, German Law on Workers' Inventions and the Spanish Patent Law. The Decree Law on Protection of Patent Rights includes translation errors, legal gaps and repetitions. Useful model rights, workers' inventions, mandatory license and patent proxy are the major innovations of the arrangement. This legal reform was followed by the establishment of the Turkish Patent Institution and the Special Courts on Intellectual and Industrial Rights. Turkey's membership to the TRIPS agreement and accession to the Customs Union, has put the state under obligations to sign many international agreements in the field of Law on Intellectual and Industrial Law.