Turkey is also undergoing a review of intellectual property rights practices under the GSP program. Our petition was accepted and Turkey's IPR practices remain under GSP review. 1 IIPA recommends that Turkey's status as a GSP beneficiary developing country be suspended or terminated because of its failure to provide adequate copyright protection and effectively enforce its copyright law. In bilateral consultations, the Turkish Government conceded that its box office tax was inconsistent with its commitments to provide national treatment, pursuant to GATT Article III, and made a commitment itself to amend its law to end this discrimination. In late 1996, the Government of Turkey implemented the required changes to eliminate the discriminatory taxation of foreign films.
Video piracy remains at high levels in Turkey.
Most of the 250 video outlets in Turkey have significant stocks of pirated Western titles. Pirate video duplication operations are small but widespread. Imported laser discs from the U.S. are being used increasingly as masters for pirate video product, especially in Istanbul. Only a few independent video distributors supply the legitimate market. Video piracy is so high now that it, along with broadcast piracy, is seriously threatening the legitimate theatrical market.