During 2018, around 581 million books were printed in Turkey, including publications subject to banderole exemption. Banderoles were mostly sold for the books under “educational” category. Education was followed by “adult” and “beliefs” categories. The lowest number of banderoles, on the other hand, pertains to “academic” publications. There are more than 170 million books subject to banderole exemption. The number of books per person was calculated as 7.18, including banderole-free books. On the other hand, figures indicate a very distinct decline in numbers from 2016 to 2018, and this decline is mostly explained through digitalization of media.
Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has announced the number of banderoles regarding music & movie productions and books for 2018. According to the data published by the Directorate General of Copyrights, the number of non-periodical publications (books) banderoles was 407 million 739 thousand 8 in 2017, whereas it later increased by around 3 million in 2018 to 410 million 641 thousand 305. The highest number of banderoles was issued for educational, adult and beliefs categories, which amounted to 215 million, 74 million and 44 million works, respectively. 7.18 BOOKS ON AVERAGE, INCLUDING 170 MILLION BOOKS SUBJECT TO BANDEROLE EXEMPTION As per article 5/II-e of the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles on Banderole Application, banderole exemption also applies to non-periodical educational publications for pre-school, primary school and secondary school, which do not exceed 48 pages in total except the cover. MINISTRY OF NATIONAL EDUCATION LEANING TOWARD DIGITAL BOOKS, DISTINCT DECLINE IN PRINTED BOOKS Educational publications of Ministry of National Education (MEB) subject to banderole exemption, and the distant-learning publications of Anadolu University, which no longer offer printed materials to its students, have decreased by 21 percent and 62 percent, respectively. Including 170 million 315 thousand 199 publications subject to banderole exemption, 580 million 956 thousand 504 books were printed in total, in 2018. The number of printed books per person, on the other hand, remained at 7.18. The number of books printed by MEB and Anadolu University has also dropped this year. [infogram id="translate-kitap-1hdw2j5logep4l0" prefix="pya"] GROWTH IN DIGITAL MOVIE & MUSIC SALES, WHILE NUMBER OF BANDEROLES DROP Comparison of the number of total registrations and banderoles sold for movies and music to previous years reveals the effect of the growth in the use of digital media in both sectors. Due to the increase in the digital sales of movies & music and in the number of digital publications, a distinct decline has occurred in the number of banderoles. While 904 movies were registered in 2016, the number has later dropped to 812 in 2017 and 756 in 2018. The number of banderoles sold for movies has also decreased. While the number was around 2.337.000 in 2016, it has later declined approximately to 1.078.000 in 2017 and 492.000 in 2018. The number of banderoles for movies has also dropped by around 20 percent in 2 years. The figures announced for 2018 are much lower compared to 2017. The reason is considered to be the increase in paper and media costs as well as increasing digital sales. In the music sector, 2,473 music productions were registered, with corresponding 4.706.146 banderoles sold in 2017, whereas last year 2,204 music productions were registered, which generated 4.120.423 banderoles. In 2016, 2253 music productions had been registered. Sales of banderoles pertaining to music have also declined as is the case with movies. The number of banderoles has dropped from the 2016 figure of 6.349.478 to 4.706.146 in 2017, which has later fallen to 4.120.423 in 2018. [infogram id="translate-copy-kitap-1hzj4o58dwk32pw" prefix="b3H"] The number of banderoles in movie and music sectors has diminished due to the growth of sales and publication of works by digital means. Safeguarding the sector through efforts on strengthening the movie law and copyright system, the Ministry of Culture & Tourism’s objective is to prevent the digital threat via the new copyrights system with upcoming updates. According to reports, Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has already instructed his team to update the law with the purpose of preventing “digital threat”. In the scope of efforts to protect the movie sector, the Cinema Law has been accepted at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), while the works on the reinforcement of copyright system have been accelerated.

What is a banderole?

Banderole is a holographic safety label, or a digitally produced safety label attached to the copies of intellectual and artistic works and non-periodical publications, with a safety band which breaks and causes the material to lose its characteristics if removed; the purpose of banderole is to prevent the unauthorized copy and reproduction of intellectual and artistic works.

What Are the Legal Grounds for Banderole Application?

  • Article 81 of Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works no. 5846
  • Regulation on the Procedures and Principles for Banderole Application
MANDATORY BANDEROLE APPLICATION It is mandatory to apply banderole to the copies of non-periodical publications (books) and registered movie and music works following their reproduction and before shipment. Furthermore, computer games are also subject to mandatory banderole application. Which Cases Do Not Require Banderole? In the following cases, use of banderole is optional for the right holder: It is mandatory to apply banderole to the copies of non-periodical publications (books) and registered movie and music works following their reproduction and before shipment. No banderole is issued for the devices which are not essentially designated to bear intellectual and artistic work despite containing one or more types of works subject to mandatory banderole and which do not have the properties of carrier material. In the following cases, use of banderole is optional for the owners of works or rights:
a) Publications consisting of discourses and speeches, and the laws, bylaws, regulations, communiqués, circulars, judicial decisions mentioned under articles 31 and 32 of the law and promulgated or announced officially, b) Of the publications that will be used for educational and training purposes by educational and training institutes, the promotional copies bearing the notice “For promotional use only – not for resale” with a minimum font size of fourteen on the front and back cover and certain pages, c) Publications or work copies to be distributed outside the country yet are only reproduced within the country, provided that they are not released for commercial circulation within the country, ç) Catalogues, brochures, manuals and tariffs for promotional or informational purposes, d) Complementary materials provided along with copies of movie and music works and non-periodical publications with banderole, e) Non-periodical educational publications for pre-school, primary school and secondary school which do not exceed 48 pages excluding the cover, f) Sample publications or work copies sent from abroad for review, on the condition that relevant authorities are provided with a guarantee that the materials are not to be released for commercial circulation during the customs and postal procedures, g) Coursebooks provided to students for free by the Ministry of National Education or by Anadolu University in the scope of Central Open Education System provided that they bear the note “Not for resale”. ğ) Publications which were printed before 7/6/1995 (effective date of the provision mandating the attachment of banderoles to non-periodical publications) and are sold second-hand. Publications released without banderole under the provisions of the second paragraph must bear the note “Banderole not mandatory under the paragraph two of article 5 of the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles for Banderole Application” with a minimum font size of fourteen on the first page or back cover. In cases defined under clauses (c), (d), (f) and (ğ) of the second paragraph, this note is not required.

Translation: Nilay Iğdır