Infringement of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights and Criminal Sanctions

Intellectual and Artistic Works

According to the Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works and the Law No. 6769 on Industrial Property, the authors of intellectual and artistic works, performing artists who perform or interpret these works, phonogram producers who make the first recording of sounds, and film producers who make the first recording of films are protected against unlawful infringement of their financial and moral rights over scientific and artistic works, fine art works, cinematographic works, musical works, recipes, and compilation works, as well as applications, registrations, or post-registration processes related to trademarks, patents, geographical indications, designs, utility models, and traditional product names.

When copyright holders' rights to their works are unfairly violated, they can seek protection of these rights, cessation of the infringement, and compensation for the damages caused through civil and criminal proceedings regulated in the fifth section of the Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works.

Legal Actions That Can Be Filed as a Result of Infringement of Intellectual and Artistic Works

Case for the Abolition of Rape

An action for the removal of infringement is one of the legal protection methods that rights holders can resort to under Articles 66-68 of the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works (FSEK) when a work of intellectual or artistic merit is processed, reproduced, distributed in reproduced copies, performed, or presented to the public without the owner's consent, without the legal written permission. In this respect, for rights holders to be able to file an action for the removal of infringement, their rights must first have been violated and this violation must still be ongoing.

Infringement of copyright can occur based on a contract, or it can arise without any contract between the parties. In this respect, contractual infringements are judged according to the provisions relating to breach of contract, while non-contractual infringements are judged according to tort law. Furthermore, the fault of the person infringing the copyright is not considered. The copyright holder can seek redress from the other party through a lawsuit for the cessation of infringement, demanding the correction or removal from publication of the reproduced, published, publicly available, or altered works, or demanding monetary compensation for the work. Additionally, if a contract exists, the copyright holder can demand up to three times the amount stipulated in the contract.

Rape Prevention (Stop) Case

When an unlawful infringement of a work occurs, the copyright holder can sue to stop the infringement.

Compensation Lawsuit

The copyright holder whose financial and moral rights have been violated may file a compensation lawsuit against the other party for the damages suffered. However, the fault of the other party is required in cases of financial rights damage. Furthermore, the copyright holder may request that any profits the other party obtained as a result of the infringement be given to them.

Criminal Cases That Can Be Filed as a Result of Infringement of Intellectual and Artistic Works

In some cases, the unlawful infringement of intellectual and artistic works is considered a crime under Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works, and specific penalties are imposed. Accordingly;

Anyone who processes, reproduces, represents, alters, distributes, offers for sale, sells, rents, lends, purchases for commercial purposes, stores, modifies, or makes available to the public a work, performance, phonogram, or production without the permission of the owner shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 1 to 5 years or a judicial fine.
It is forbidden to give a name to or change the name of a work belonging to another person without the permission of the owner. Those who commit this crime shall be sentenced to imprisonment for 6 months to 2 years or a fine. However, if the act is committed with the intention of distributing or publishing, the maximum sentence shall be five years, and a fine shall not be imposed.
It is forbidden to quote from another's work without citing the source. Those who commit this crime shall be sentenced to imprisonment for 6 months to 2 years or to a fine.
It is prohibited to make a work that has not been made public public without the permission of the copyright holder. Those who commit this crime shall be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 6 months.
Providing insufficient, inaccurate, or misleading information about a work is prohibited. Those who commit this offense shall be sentenced to imprisonment for up to six months.
It is prohibited to reproduce, distribute, broadcast, or publish a work, performance, phonogram, or production using the name of another well-known person; those who commit this offense shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of three months to one year or to a judicial fine.
Individuals who create, offer for sale, sell, or possess for commercial purposes programs designed to disable other programs developed to protect computer programs shall be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 6 months to 2 years.

The investigation and prosecution of the aforementioned crimes are subject to complaint, and the complaint period is 6 months. Furthermore, the court may issue an interim injunction upon the request of individuals whose rights have been violated or professional associations, in order to prevent substantial harm or imminent danger.

Industrial Property Rights

According to Article 149 of the Industrial Property Law, the rights holder whose industrial property rights have been unlawfully violated may request a court order

Determining whether the act constitutes rape,
If rape has occurred, then preventing or stopping that rape,
The elimination of rape and compensation for material and moral damages,
The party may request that the production of the products constituting the infringement or the means used in their production be stopped, that these products be confiscated or that the right of ownership of these products be recognized, and that these decisions be announced in a daily newspaper or similar means and notified to the relevant parties, with the costs borne by the other party.

According to the Turkish Code of Obligations, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit resulting from the unlawful infringement of industrial property rights expires two years from the date the injured party learns of the damage and the liable party, and in any case, ten years from the date the act was committed. Furthermore, if deemed necessary, the court may issue a provisional injunction upon the request of the rights holder.

The competent and authorized court in intellectual and industrial property rights cases

As stipulated in Article 156 of the Industrial Property Rights Law, intellectual property and industrial property cases are handled by specialized courts: the Intellectual and Industrial Property Law Court and the Intellectual and Industrial Property Criminal Court.

For more information on this matter, you can consult with our firm's experienced lawyers.

STJ. AV. Özgür Güven