WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?

Copyright arises automatically with the production of ideas and artistic works. Owners of works do not even need to register for copyright to arise. However, owners of works can optionally register and register through the Notary or the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Of course, there are some works for which registration is mandatory, we will talk about these works in the rest of our topic. Thanks to copyright, which is an intellectual property right, authors protect the originality of their works. Music, videos, paintings, sculptures, books, photographs and all kinds of works created with original ideas are included in the scope of copyright. Through copyright, authors have their works legally protected. In this way, they can claim rights on the works they produce from the moment they are produced.

Copyrights are divided into two in our law: material and moral rights. The moral rights granted to the author of the work by copyright are listed as the right to present the work to the public, the right to indicate his name in the work, and the right to prevent changes in the work. Material rights are considered as the right to process, reproduce, disseminate, represent and communicate to the public. According to these rights, the owner of the work can rent, sell or distribute his work by processing it and making different copies of it. He may have the right to represent his work and have the original or reproduced versions of the work broadcast on broadcasting venues such as television and digital transmission media.

Copyright aims to protect the property rights of the creator of the work and encourage them to produce new works. Of course, some conditions must be met in order to protect the work with copyright. To briefly list these conditions, the work must be original and express the original thought of its creator. It must belong to a category of work that can be protected under this right. For example, many works such as books, paintings, photographs, music, films, paintings and sculptures are among the works that can be protected under this right. Additionally, the work must be published in a concrete medium. It is not possible to claim rights over something that has been thought about mentally.

We mentioned that copyright is created at the moment the work is created without the need for registration, but registration can still be made optionally. However, registration is mandatory for some works by law. Musical works and cinema films are among the works whose registration is required. When a musical work or a movie is made, an application must be made to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in order to obtain copyright. Initial applications are made on the website of the General Directorate of Copyrights. Here, a copyright certificate is obtained after it is proven that it is an original work belonging to you. Approved documents are prepared in two copies, one copy is given to the relevant person and the other is in the archives of the General Directorate of Copyright.

What is Copyright Infringement?

If the work is reproduced, copied, sold, distributed, used in studies, or displayed in a way that requires permission without permission and information from the rights owner, copyright infringement occurs. However, there is no sanction for copyright infringement in the law. In case of infringement, a lawsuit must be filed by citing copyright as evidence. The person who holds the copyright may file a complaint and seek compensation based on infringement.

What are the lawsuits that can be filed in case of copyright infringement?

The owner of the work may file a criminal complaint and file a civil lawsuit in accordance with Article 71 of the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works. You can get comprehensive information about filing a lawsuit in our topic titled "How to file a lawsuit." The lawsuits that can be filed in case of violation of material and moral rights on the work and the explanations of these lawsuits are as follows:

Lawsuit for redress of infringement: The rightful owner whose material or moral rights have been violated can file this lawsuit. In order to file this lawsuit, the infringing action or its legal consequences must be ongoing. The main purpose of this case is to eliminate the ongoing violation of rights by taking precautions by the court and to prevent the right holder from suffering further damage.

Lawsuit (prevention) of rape: The owner of the work whose material and moral rights are in danger of being violated can file a lawsuit against rape to prevent this violation of rights. The main purpose of this case is to prevent actions that may constitute human rights violations that have not occurred but are at high risk of occurring.

Declaration Case: Anyone with a legal interest can file a declaratory lawsuit to determine whether the material and moral rights on the work have been violated.

Compensation Case:  It is divided into two: pecuniary and non-pecuniary compensation cases. A lawsuit for financial compensation may be filed against those who process, represent, reproduce and disseminate the work and transmit it to the public through audio and video, without the permission of the rights holder. The person or persons who are entitled may request as financial compensation a maximum of three times the price that would have been agreed upon in the contract if a contract had been made with the persons who committed the violation, or the current price determined in accordance with FSEK.

People whose moral rights have been damaged can file a lawsuit for moral compensation against the person who committed the act of rape. There must be an unlawful act that will constitute a violation of moral rights. It does not matter whether the person committing the unlawful violation is at fault or perfect. The amount of compensation may vary depending on the violation and the economic situation of the violator.

What is the Copyright Penalty?

Persons involved in works that are reproduced, distributed, sold or purchased, or displayed publicly without the permission of the rights holder are punished according to the Turkish Penal Code. Persons who violate copyright may be sentenced to imprisonment from 1 to 5 years and a judicial fine. People who present someone else's work as their own may be sentenced to imprisonment between 6 months and 2 years.

What is the Copyright Fee?

A certain fee must be paid to register copyright, whether compulsory or optional. The General Directorate of Copyrights charges a processing fee as an optional registration application fee on its website. In addition, there is a registration and registration fee regulation in Article 11 of the Regulation on Registration and Registration of Intellectual and Artistic Works. According to the relevant regulation article, the amount found by multiplying the 1000 or 5000 indicator number with the civil servant monthly coefficient is determined as the registration and registration fee.

How Many Years is the Copyright Valid?

The work is protected for as long as the author is alive and for 70 years after his death. If more than one person has created a joint work, the date of death of the last survivor of these people is taken as basis. If the owner of the work is a legal entity, the protection period is regulated in the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works as 70 years from the date of publicity. The preservation process does not work until the work becomes public. In other words, publicity is necessary for the protection process to begin. In the event of the death of the author, the first day of the year following the year of death is considered the starting date when calculating the period. For example, for a work owner who died in mid-2005, the 70-year protection period will begin on the first day of 2006. If the owner of the work is a legal entity, the first day of the year following the year in which the work was made public is considered the start date. When the protection period expires, the financial rights granted to the author of the work terminate. In other words, the work becomes freely available for use by anyone without permission from the owner.

What is Copyright Transfer?

Thanks to the transfer of copyright, all rights on the work become available to the transferee. Unless there is a contrary provision in the contract, the rights subject to the contract can also be transferred to third parties. With the transfer, the transferor will hand over his rights to the transferee, allowing the transferee to use these rights as if he were the owner of the work. However, moral rights remain with the creator of the work even if the copyright is transferred. Moral rights are rights that are strictly attached to the owner of the work; they cannot be transferred neither by inheritance nor through legal proceedings.

How to Transfer Copyright?

Copyright agreements must be made in writing. Each of the material rights subject to the contract must be specified separately. Using a statement such as "I transfer all my rights" will invalidate the contract. The owner of the work has the right to transfer some of his rights while not transferring others. For this reason, each financial right to be transferred in contracts should be counted one by one.

In this article, we tried to give you information about frequently asked questions about copyright. You can also send any questions you may have to our office via the form below.

Av. Mehmet Yücesoy

İzmir Attorney & Legal Consultancy