Hereke Carpets: “Made in China”

There is certainly a different mentality in China, especially opposed to the West when it comes to issues of what is considered private versus public. Tim Clissold notes that the Chinese don’t have a word for “privacy”. When China’s vice president, Xi Jinping, visited the White House on February 21, President Obama renewed calls for China to play more fairly in the world economy. China’s theft is so serious, and at such inconceivable levels, that it threatens the global economy. But while China’s industrial subsidies, trade policies, undervalued currency and lack of enforcement for intellectual property rights all remain sticking points especially for the US and other developed countries, there is at least one area according to Mr. Jinping, which is changing: the nearly unbeatable cheap labour that has made China’s factories magnets is not so cheap anymore. Is it really true? Does it mean that this is going to be the end of trademark infringement in China? We are sure that Turkey is not in the same opinion.

According to many newspapers in Turkey, China cloned Hereke carpets. This acclaimed carpet name was founded in Sultan Abdülmecid period and gained world wide reputation for its high quality, hand made, silk weaving. In the period of Ottoman Empire, these carpets were put to the chicest areas of the palaces.  But lately, a giant industrial zone of Hereke carpets was constructed in China and those carpets started to be manufactured in a process of automation, with a brand name of “Hereke”. On the other hand, Turkey, instead of claiming the historical name from the Chinese, signed under a tragicomic event. The Hereke municipality closed due to lack of population in the area and officially Turkey does not have a region called “Hereke” anymore! China, using this opportunity,  applied for the trademark of the name ‘’Hereke’’ and started to produce more and more Hereke carpets without any historical justification. Actually they don’t need a justification after Hereke has been obsolete and inexistent even in Turkey!

Trade with China is beneficial for our country as well as China, but the theft is seriously problematic. It’s getting worse because we are doing nothing to stop it or even slow it down. Hereke carpets are produced by hand and are 100 percent silk normally. On the other hand in China. They are stealing our patents and our intellectual property. It’s getting worse because we are doing nothing to stop it.