Ministry Introduces Significant Amendments to the Banderole Requirement

Recent Development

The Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Banderole Requirement (“ Regulation “) prepared by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism entered into force after publication in the Official Gazette on January 14, 2021. The Regulation updated the procedures and principles of mandatory and optional banderole requirements to combat piracy and intellectual property right infringements. A banderole is the holographic security label or digitally produced security strip, that is affixed on the reproduced copies of works and non-periodical publications and that disintegrates and loses the properties of the material to which it is attached, if dismantled. The banderole requirement prevents the unauthorized reproduction and imitation of intellectual and artistic works, ensures the rights of copyright owners and combats intellectual property infringements. The Regulation aims to improve the banderole requirement practice and increase the efficiency of provincial inspection commissions.

What’s New?

The primary changes the Regulation introduced include:

• Publications and copies of publications imported to be marketed in Turkey will be labeled with banderoles within thirty days after the completion of customs procedures.
• Significant changes were made to the documents required to apply for a banderole. In this context, copyright owners must submit a request form and a statement to identify on which work the banderoles will be used. Additional documents and requirements are set forth in detail in the Regulation.
• It is possible to obtain banderoles collectively for non-periodical publications imported by taking over the right to publish and copies reproduced specifically for the user’s request, provided that the number of prints is not more than one hundred.
• The regulation regarding the acquisition of a single banderole for works that are commercially circulated all at once and that present an inseparable whole was abolished due to the difficulties in controlling bad-faith practices.
• Computer games that can be displayed through electronic, mechanical or similar means, that are audible or silent and contain a series of moving images, will be subject to the same banderole procedures as cinema works.
• Inspection commissions will be able to inspect the banderole obligation on an ex officio basis or upon notice, and governors can establish sub-commissions under the inspection commissions, if necessary.
• Facilities that reproduce copies and publications that must be labeled are obliged to place the banderoles delivered in accordance with the banderole request form, the work subject to the undertaking and the specified series range.
• Materials seized within the scope of banderole crimes will be destroyed within the framework of the Criminal Articles Regulation dated March 23, 2016.

Conclusion

The Regulation aims to solve the most common problems and needs encountered in the application and supervision of the banderole requirement, which are crucial to combat pirated publications. Accordingly, the banderole application documents were simplified; certain regulations came into effect regarding banderole working procedures; and the principles of provincial inspection commissions operating under the governorships to perform banderole inspections, and the responsibilities of reproduction facilities within the scope of the banderole operations were clarified. The Regulation also regulates the destruction of materials seized within the scope of banderole crime investigations.