According to the new Articles of the criminal procedure, IP related criminal actions are defined as public actions to which the IP right holder can joined. The procedure starts with a complaint filed before the public prosecutor, including the request for the confiscation of infringing products. If the prosecutor and/or the judge are convinced of the infringement, they order the police raid for the confiscation of counterfeits.

Police raids as part of criminal proceedings may be recognized as the quickest, and one of the most effective, remedies, along with the interim injunction to stop the infringement. An order for seizure is initiated within one or two days by means of provisions describing the complaint as urgent. In the determination of evidence procedure, the infringer will be informed and will have the chance to hide counterfeits before subsequent raids. Contrary to this disadvantageous situation, convincing the public prosecutor and the criminal judge to order the police raid is a better path for the disclosure and confiscation of counterfeits.

Thereafter, the public prosecutor files a criminal lawsuit before the IP Criminal Courts and the accused may face up to four years imprisonment and fines. Most criminal cases wait for the judgment of invalidity lawsuits in Turkey. The person accused of an infringement most probably files a lawsuit for the cancellation of the related IP right. The criminal court cannot inflict a penalty until the civil court’s judgment. If the civil court invalidates the registration of the right holder, there will no longer be an offence.

That is why the criminal judges wait for the other related invalidity actions, especially for design and patent issues. Therefore, it can be said that the time period for criminal proceedings mostly depends on the civil actions.