What are the conditions for a work so as to be protected within 5846 numbered Copyright Act?

Work is defined as ‘any kind of intellectual and artistic product bearing the characteristics of its owner and which is considered a work of science and literature, music, fine arts or cinema under the following provisions.’

In this respect, provided that the work ‘bears the stamp of the owner’ and ‘considered as a work of science and literature, music, fine arts or cinema under the following provisions’ will enjoy protection under Copyright Act in Turkey.

Who are regarded as the owner of the work?

The owner of a work is the person who creates it.

The owner of an adaptation is, provided that the rights of the original owner are reserved, the adapter.

In cinematographic works;  the director, the composer of the original soundtrack and the author of the scenario are the collective owners of the work. Animators are also regarded as the author in cinematographic works that has been constituted by animation technique.

What happens if there is more than one owner of the work?

In case the work created by more than one person, ‘can be divided into parts’, each of the owners is considered as the owner of the part he created.

If the work created through the participation of more than one person constitutes a whole, the owner of the work is the unity of its creators.  

 What are the rights of the owner of the work?

The owner of copyright in a protected work may use the work as he/she wishes, and may prevent others from using it without his authorization. (It should be noted that the phrase ‘as he/she wishes’ does not, of course, mean that they can use it regardless of the legally recognized rights and interests of the other members of society.)

There are two types of rights under copyright one of which is ‘moral rights’ that allow the author to take certain actions to preserve the personal link between himself and the work and the other ‘financial rights’ that allow the owner of the right to derive financial reward from the use of his works by others.

What kind of authorities does moral rights comprise?

Moral rights comprise the authority to ‘present the work to the public’, ‘state the name (to decide on presenting to the public or publishing the work with the name or pseudonym of its owner or without a name)’, ‘prohibit the changes on the work’, ‘claim rights against the possessor and the owner’.

What kind of authorities does financial rights comprise?

Financial rights comprise the authority to ‘adapt’, ‘duplicate’, ‘disseminate’, ‘perform’ and ‘broadcast through radio’.

Is there a time limitation for financial rights?

The financial rights granted to the owner of the work are restricted by time.

In general, the protection period continues during the lifetime of the owner of the work and for 70 years after his death. Where there is more than one owner for a work, this period launches as from the date of death of the last owner. For works becoming publicized after the death of their owner, the protection period is 70 years after the date of death. In case the first owner of the work is a corporal person, the protection period is 70 years from the date that the work becomes publicized.