Intellectual Property Cases

According to Article 1/B of Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works; an artwork is "all kinds of ideas and art products considered works of science and literature, music, fine arts or cinema works which carry the characteristics of their owner”.

According to our law, for an intellectual and art product to be considered as an artwork and to be taken under protection, it has to;

a. Carry the characteristics of its owner,

b. Be formed,

c. Be included in one of the artwork types listed in the law,

d. An outcome of an intellectual effort.

Intellectual property rights consist of two non-material rights groups. These are called intellectual and industrial rights. While intellectual rights are rights that have a long history, industrial rights were recognized and accepted as an issue much later. It wasn't until the birth of industrial rights that intellectual rights began to be considered under the concept of intellectual property, which is a higher and broader concept.

If the violation of the intellectual right arose from a contract between the parties, the dispute arising therefrom was deemed as commercial litigation and was subject to the jurisdiction of the commercial court (Article 4, paragraphs 4, 5 of the TCC), and if there was no contractual relationship between the parties, it was subject to the jurisdiction of the civil court of first instance. However, since the latest laws enacted in the field of intellectual property stipulate the establishment of special courts of expertise in disputes arising from this field, this distinction is no longer important since these courts have been established with the last regulations. Whether the infringement of intellectual rights originates from a contract between the parties or is based on an unjust act, the court assigned for disputes shall be the intellectual and industrial rights court. In case of violation of intellectual rights without a contractual relationship between the parties, the provisions on unjust acts shall apply. In such case, period of limitations for unjust acts shall be considered. The provision of Article 60 of the OC provides three periods of limitations in this matter. The short period of limitations is one year and commences from the date of finding out the damage and the perpetrator; long period of limitations is ten years and commences from the date of the event of the unjust act; As regards the limitation of action, if the infringement of intellectual property also constitutes a criminal offense and, if there is a longer limitation of action for that offense, that limitation shall also apply for compensation claim.