Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu, reminding that Turkey’s share of the global foreign export volume in 1980 used to be 0.3%, said, “Today, this ratio is reached 0.8%. Thirty years ago, our share of the global production volume ratio was around 0.5%; today, we’ve exceeded 1%.”

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that among their goals for the year 2023 are reaching 500 billion USD exports volume, increasing Turkey’s global production volume ratio to 1.5% and having at least 10 Turkish companies among the world’s 500 largest companies.

Stating that Turkey aims to be global leaders in at least three sectors and producing 10 world famous brands by the year 2023, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We know that we need an innovative and advanced industry and a technology focused and productive society for these. The must-have, pre-requisite for this is a strong intellectual property regime. Companies with this knowledge will have already started investing in their intellectual properties.”

Stating that Turkey is working diligently for the preservation of intellectual property rights, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “However, we still have a ways to go. We see that in order to transition to a high income country from a middle income country, intellectual property rights gain in value.”

Reporting that many students of the TOBB Economy and Technology University develop projects which are patented and licensed during their internships, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We as the Turkish business world are focused on the year 2023 goals. We are training our new entrepreneur candidates with this mentality. At this point, counterfeiting and piracy are not modes of business which we can find acceptable.”

- “Counterfeit and pirated goods are unrightfully stolen rights”

Stating that counterfeit and pirated products adversely impact a country’s economy, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Counterfeit and pirated goods are unrightfully stolen rights. Allah commands us to not appear before him with unrightfully stolen rights. All unlawful endeavors such as counterfeiting, smuggling and piracy cause unfair competition against representatives of the business community who play by the rules and who fulfill their legal and ethical responsibilities.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We cannot accept this. The entrepreneur who invests millions of TL in research, invention and brand should not be afraid to have it stolen from him. It is for this reason that we support the Turkish business world’s creation of their unique brands and competing on the global arena.

Looking at BASCAP’s work, the counterfeit and piracy combating agency of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in which I hold office as a Board Member, we see that what’s really at state is the health of our citizens and the tax income of our government. For the same reason, 135,000 jobs are lost.”

- “I buy real”

Stating that they are aware combating counterfeiting and piracy can be a long road, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Both our public organizations and our private sector are taking important steps to this end. There is important development in our approach to the issue. We have already started to enjoy the fruits of it.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the end user and especially the growing generation of children need to be informed regarding counterfeit and pirated goods and went on to say, “It is for this reason that we are working on a project to raise awareness and provide information on the issue as TOBB, through ICC Turkey. We will be promoting ICC BASCAP’s “I Buy Real” campaign, which is underway in 25 countries, together with our two ministers on April 26th, the World Intellectual Property Day.

This project is unique in that it has behind it the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s great support and the contribution of the Customs and Commerce Ministry and the Turkish National Police in assessing both the intellectual and the industrial aspect of counterfeiting and piracy.”