A review on intellectual and industrial property activities of R&D and design centers in the field of textile and ready-to- wear clothing

This study aims to analyze the intellectual and industrial property (IPR) activities of R&D and design centers operating in the textile and apparel fields in Turkey between 2004 and 2024. TURKPATENT's online database and the public statistics portal of the Ministry of Industry and Technology were used as data sources, and center-based patent and utility model applications and registration data were collected through documentation method. The data obtained were classified under three themes as "Machine", 'Product' and "Process" using thematic content analysis method. Each theme was analyzed with 33 separate components under the categories of "Production", 'Field' and "Feature" based on functional decomposition. The findings show that R&D centers exhibit high productivity in terms of patent and utility model applications; they are particularly concentrated in the "Machine" and "Process" themes. Design centers, on the other hand, were found to have made unique but limited number of applications focusing on aesthetics and functionality under the "Product" theme. In the research, recommendations were developed to support design centers in the production of FSMH, to increase cooperation between R&D and design centers, and to expand R&D incentives specific to the apparel industry. It was also emphasized that the definitions of the two types of centers should be structurally and functionally clarified within the framework of Law No. 5746. The objectives of the research are to make the innovative production trends of intellectual and industrial property activities of R&D and design centers in the field of textile and apparel visible from a thematic perspective, to provide policy recommendations for the development of the sector and to ensure that the findings obtained will constitute a useful resource for researchers, policy makers and sector representatives.