At the beginning of September, BRANDIT expanded its activities into the Turkish market and welcomed Yasemin Aktaş to the BRANDIT family. With an ever-growing IP infringement and counterfeit goods issue in this region, we were keen to have BRANDIT people on the ground there too, bringing our expertise and helping clients to protect their IP assets.
It has been an amazing couple of months for Yasemin since opening the office in Istanbul and we wanted to catch up with her to hear how everything has been going.
Interviewer: Yasemin, thank you for joining us today. Before we start talking about the office, I wanted to take a step back and ask how you both got into the world of IP?
It all started with my internship at one of the biggest Turkish media groups having TV channels and magazines under its roof. Among the others in its legal department, the IP department was the most fascinating one for me. It was incredibly exciting to see the release of movies, TV series, animations etc. after taking a part in the preparation of their licensing or production agreements. I could not have imagined at the beginning how the IP would make my way cross with the amazing people all around the world and always felt very lucky about this.
Interviewer: You opened the BRANDIT office in Istanbul at the beginning of September, how’s your first couple of months been? What have you done since the opening?
This has been a unique experience for me. All emotions went together, and I must say that it was a huge inspiration to see the people’s trust in us. The IP community has also been very positive about the new office in Turkey. We have been busy with deadlines and hearings from the day one and onboarding the clients. Of course, needed support and hired an associate in mid-October.
Interviewer: What were the main reasons for you (and BRANDIT) to expand into this region?
With the global trend of increasing counterfeiting activity, especially online, we started receiving demands from the brand owners also for online brand protection services. Turkey has always been a must-to-be-monitored country since it has been among the top producers of counterfeit goods in certain sectors.
Now, we are feeling the privilege of being the first Turkish firm combining legal and online brand protection services under the same roof. And BRANDIT’s domain name services is another plus.
I also really liked the BRANDIT’s approach in the community and felt that it would be a perfect match for us and our clients.
Interviewer: What kind of reactions have you received since announcing this move?
It has been amazing! We have received so many positive reactions from the IP community and it was very motivating to see that our colleagues are feeling the same way that we felt while moving forward.
Interviewer: What have you learned/key takeaways from the last couple of months/opening office?
Well, setting up your own business brings a lot of new abilities into your life- even the ones that you did not even know that you had. I have learned a lot on what it takes to set up a new business and will keep learning! We have just started, right?
Interviewer: What can we expect from BRANDIT Turkey in the coming months?
I believe in action rather than speeches. Our team is already expanding, and we are very positive for the coming months. Let’s see together what will happen!
If you have any questions about our services in Turkey or how we can help you in this region, please do not hesitate to contact Yasemin directly or contact the main office at +41 44 515 65 75 / communication@brandit.com
