Protection Periods Under Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights: Financial, Moral, Related Rights, and Protection Matters Other Than the Work Itself

Regarding "Protection Periods within the Scope of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights": human intelligence and creativity are the greatest source of wealth in the modern world. A novel written by an author, an artificial intelligence code developed by a programmer, a vaccine formulated by a pharmaceutical company, or a brand built on trust over the years... All of these assets are "intangible" entities that do not possess a physical body and are entirely products of mental processes. The legal system uses a vast umbrella called "Intellectual Property Law" to protect these abstract values.

Intellectual property law is divided into two main branches: Intellectual Rights (Copyrights) and Industrial Rights. Copyrights protect cultural productions such as art, literature, cinema, and science; while industrial rights safeguard inventions, trademarks, and designs in the world of commerce, industry, and technology.

However, the law cannot leave these rights in the hands of a single person forever. If every idea, every technology, and every melody were locked away forever, humanity could not build a shared cultural and scientific heritage. Therefore, the legal system has developed the institution of "protection periods" to strike a delicate balance between individual interests and societal progress.

In this article, we will examine, with academic depth but in a clear and accessible language, all aspects of copyright law, including the lifespan of financial and moral rights, the duration of related rights holders who are the unsung heroes behind the creation of a work, and topics such as databases, computer programs, trade secrets, trademarks, and patents that do not qualify as "works" but fall within the scope of intellectual property protection.

1. Protection Periods for Financial and Moral Rights in Intellectual Property Rights (Copyright Law)

In Turkey, copyright law, regulated by the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works No. 5846 (FSEK), is based on the fundamental principle that protection begins without registration. Registration with a government office is not required for the protection of a work; the protection period automatically begins the moment the work, bearing the author's distinctive mark, is made public. The rights granted to the author are divided into two categories: financial and moral, and the temporal fate of these two groups of rights is entirely different.

A. Duration of Protection for Financial Rights (Economic Rights)

Financial rights encompass the economic exploitation of a work, including reproduction, distribution, sale, theatrical performance, or public dissemination through digital channels such as the internet. These rights can be traded, sold, or passed on to heirs. However, this economic monopoly is not perpetual.

• General Duration (Lifetime + 70 Years): In copyright law, the protection period for financial rights lasts for the lifetime of the author and for 70 years after their death. This period is considered a standard worldwide (in accordance with the Bern Convention and European Union legislation).

• The Starting Nuance of the Period: The 70-year period does not begin on the day the author dies. the first day of the calendar year following the author's death (January 1st) . For example, if a composer died on April 12, 2026, copyright protection on their compositions would begin on January 1, 2027 and continue until midnight on December 31, 2096.

• Status of Collaborative Works: If a work is created jointly by more than one person (for example, the director, screenwriter, and original music composer in a film), the protection period from the beginning of the year following the death of the last surviving co-author .

• Anonymous and Pseudonymous Works: If the author's true identity is unknown, the retention period is 70 years from the date of the work's first legal publication. However, if the author publicly declares their identity within this period, the general rule of "lifetime + 70 years" immediately applies.

• Works Discovered After Death: If an unpublished novel, found in the author's drawer after their death, is legally published for the first time 70 years prior, the author acquires a 25-year exclusive financial protection right over the work

When the copyright expires, the work "Public Domain ." Anyone can print that book or play that song for free without permission.

B. Duration of Protection of Moral Rights (Principle of Infinity)

Moral rights include the right to decide whether a work can be presented to the public, to have one's name inscribed on the work, and to prohibit any alteration or distortion of the work. These rights are strictly tied to the author's person; they cannot be sold or transferred to another party.

The most important academic principle regarding moral rights is this: Moral rights are not subject to statute of limitations; their protection period is indefinite. Even when the financial rights to a work expire and the work becomes public domain (for example, a novel by Dostoevsky or an architectural structure by Sinan), no one can put their own name on that work or distort its content in a way that completely alters its original spirit. After the death of the author, their heirs protect these rights. In cases where there are no heirs, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has the authority to initiate protection lawsuits indefinitely as the guardian of these moral rights.

2. Protection Periods of Adjacent/Related Rights to the Work

Copyright law protects not only the original creators of a work (authors, composers, painters), but also those who have made significant contributions to bringing the work to the public, performing it, or financing it. This group of rights "Related Rights" or "Neighboring Rights ." The Turkish Copyright Law categorizes related rights holders into three main groups and specifies clear protection periods for each.

A. Performing Artists (Actors, Musicians, Dancers)

The person who composes a song is the copyright holder; however, the singer who records that song in the studio or the musician playing guitar in the background is the "performing artist." Similarly, film and theater actors who bring a script to life also belong to this group.

The rights of performing artists extend for 70 years from the date their performance is first recorded on an audio or video medium (cassette, film, digital file). The period is calculated from the first day of the year following the year of recording. If the artist's performance was not recorded during their lifetime, the 70-year protection period begins from the date the performance was first made public (the concert was broadcast).

B. Phonogram Producers (Music Production Companies)

A phonogram is the first recorded version of sounds from a performance onto a tangible medium (master recording, tape, digital media). Music production companies that finance and organize this have independent rights to those sound recordings (phonograms). The protection period for phonogram producers is 70 years from the date of the first recording. The period begins to run on January 1st of the year following the recording.

C. Radio and Television Organizations

Radio and television companies own the rights to the broadcast signals, program content, and broadcast schedules they produce. Unauthorized live broadcasting or recording of their programs by another medium constitutes a violation of these rights. The protection period for radio and television organizations is 70 years from the date of the first broadcast.

3. Intellectual Property Issues Other Than Works and Protection Periods

The world of intellectual property is not limited to novels, songs, or films. In today's commercial and technological ecosystem, there are many "non-artistic" protection areas that, while not technically considered classic "works of art or literature," represent a tremendous intellectual and financial investment. The majority of these areas are protected under the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK) and the Turkish Commercial Code (TTK).

A. Computer Programs and Databases (A Special Classification)

Computer software, by its technical nature, is essentially related to industry and technology. However, international law and Turkish law (FSEK - Copyright Law) have recognized software codes (source code and object code) as "Works of Science and Literature" because they constitute a combination of languages.

Therefore, the copyright protection period for computer programs is the same as the general copyright period: for the lifetime of the programmer and 70 years after their death.

Databases are protected for 70 years if they offer a unique structure in terms of the selection and organization of the data within them. However, if a database does not contain original creativity and is merely compiled with a large financial investment (for example, a large telephone directory data), it is called a "non-original database." To protect this investment, the law grants the creator of the database 15-year "sui generis right." The period begins from the moment the database is completed.

B. Trademarks (The Only Right That Lasts Forever)

A trademark is any sign used to distinguish the goods or services of one business from those of another. Trademark protection is an industrial right entirely subject to formal registration.

Trademark protection lasts for 10 years from the date of application to TURKPATENT. However, what makes trademarks the most powerful instrument in the world of intellectual property is that their protection period can be extended indefinitely by paying a renewal fee every 10 years.

If a company does not neglect the official renewal procedures every 10 years, the protection of that brand will continue for generations. If the renewal period is missed, renewal can be done with a penalty fee within 6 months after the protection expires; if this period is also missed, the brand will completely lapse and become public domain.

C. Patents (Strict and Non-Extendable for 20 Years)

A patent is a protection certificate granted by the state to the owner of an invention that is entirely new and applicable to industry. It grants the inventor the exclusive right (monopoly) to produce and sell that product worldwide.

Patents provide protection for a strict 20-year period from the date of official application. A strict and immutable rule of patent law is that this 20-year period cannot be extended or renewed under any circumstances.

The moment the patent expires, that technology or drug formula becomes the common property of all humanity and can be freely produced by anyone. This is to pave the way for scientific development and to alleviate the burden of monopolization on society. To maintain patent protection, it is mandatory to pay "annual registration maintenance fees" regularly each year. If the fee for one year is not paid, the patent right is cancelled before the 20-year period is up.

D. Utility Models (10 Years)

A utility model is a type of "minor patent" that protects practical devices and improved machinery in industry, excluding chemical substances, and does not involve the same high level of inventive step as a patent. The protection period for utility models is 10 years from the application date and, unlike patents, cannot be extended.

E. Designs (Maximum 25 Years)

Design protection safeguards a product's appearance, lines, shape, and aesthetics, not its technical function. Registered designs are protected for a period of 5 years from the application date. The design owner can extend this period in five-year increments by renewing the protection at the end of each 5-year period. However, the legislator has set an upper limit for designs: a design for a maximum total of 25 years . After 25 years, that aesthetic form becomes public domain.

For fast-moving consumer goods sectors like fashion "Unregistered Design" protection period is 3 years and cannot be extended.

F. Geographical Indications and Traditional Product Names (No Time Limit)

Geographical indications (for example, Antep Baklava, Kars Kashar cheese) are industrial property rights that protect products that are identified with the locality, area, or region of their origin due to their distinctive quality, reputation, or other characteristics.

There is no time limit for geographical indication protection . Once a geographical indication is registered, the protection continues indefinitely as long as the producers in that region continue to produce according to the conditions (recipe) in the registration certificate. There is no question of renewal or expiration because this right belongs to the community and the geography, not to individuals.

G. Integrated Circuit Topographies (10 or 15 Years)

This type of exclusive right, which protects the three-dimensional layered layouts of electronic microchips and integrated circuits, has a protection period of 10 years from the date the topography was first used commercially by the rights holder. If there has been no commercial use prior to the registration application, the period begins from the date of registration. In any case, in a scenario where the integrated circuit topography is kept secret and never used, the right to sue and protect automatically expires 15 years after it was drawn

H. Trade Secrets and Know-How (Infinite as Long as Confidentiality Continues)

A company's customer lists, secret production methods, or unpatented but confidential trade secrets, such as the Coca-Cola formula, are protected as "Trade Secrets" (Know-How). There is no chronological protection period defined by law for trade secrets.

The duration of protection is equal to the length of time the information remains "secret." The longer the company can keep the information confidential through internal security measures, the longer the protection will last (even centuries). If the secret is revealed through the wrongful acts of company employees or third parties (theft, leakage), compensation claims can be filed within the statute of limitations periods under the "unfair competition" provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code. However, once the secret is made public and learned by everyone, it permanently loses its proprietary status.

4. Comparative Analysis of Protection Periods and Starting Points

When we compare and analyze all these timeframes in intellectual and industrial property law, the philosophical difference in the law's approach to protection becomes clear.

In copyright law (works and related rights), deadlines are always the end of a person's lifetime or the end of the year in which the tort/determination occurred . There is no dependency on a government agency. The aim is to protect the economic well-being of the artist and their heirs for two generations.

In industrial property (patents, trademarks, designs), deadlines are precisely date and time of the official application . The state lowers its protective shield the moment renewal fees are not paid. The aim here is to clearly define the rules of commercial competition among market actors and to enable manufacturers to plan ahead.

Conclusion

Protection periods under intellectual and industrial property rights represent the balance between integrity and development in the modern economy. The legal system rewards creative minds, inventors, and investors by granting them legal monopoly rights for a specific period, while ensuring social justice by making these rights available for common public use at the end of that period.

In the evolving digital age, monitoring and properly managing copyright protection periods is a vital necessity for companies and artists. It should be remembered that an expired patent can be instantly replicated by competitors, a brand not renewed in time can be wiped out from the market, and a work that is 70 years old can be published without copyright protection. Knowing the duration of intellectual property rights and the legal consequences that arise when these periods expire is one of the most critical requirements of our time in terms of strategic asset management.