Copyright Protection in Türkiye

Which Works Are Protected?

Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (FSEK) protects qualifying literary and scientific, musical, fine-art and cinematographic works, as well as qualifying adaptations and collections. A work must carry its author's individual characteristics. The law protects the expression, not an idea in the abstract. Article 2 expressly covers computer programs and preparatory designs that lead to a program, but not the ideas and principles behind a program or interface.

For a company, the first practical question is not only whether the material is protected, but who created it and which rights the company may exercise. The author is generally the natural person who created the work. Employment and commissioning arrangements can affect the exercise of economic rights; a buyer should review the relevant contracts instead of assuming that payment alone transferred every right.

Is Registration Required?

Copyright protection starts when a qualifying work is created; voluntary registration is not a condition for protection. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism explains that voluntary registration can help evidence authorship. Separate mandatory registration rules apply to certain film and music productions and computer games. These administrative requirements should not be confused with the creation of copyright itself.

Who Owns and May Use the Rights?

Authors have moral rights, including decisions about disclosure, attribution and certain changes to the work. Economic rights include adaptation, reproduction, distribution, performance and communication to the public. A company may obtain or exercise economic rights under the applicable law and contracts, while moral rights require separate attention. Multiple contributors, employee-created work and incorporated third-party material make the chain of title more complex.

Article 52 requires contracts and dispositions concerning economic rights to be in writing and to specify the rights individually. A licence should therefore say exactly what may be copied, adapted, sold, streamed or shared, and for how long and where. Buying a physical artwork or a source-code copy does not by itself transfer all intellectual rights.

How Long Does Protection Last?

The general term for an author's economic rights is the author's lifetime plus 70 years, calculated under the rules of Law No. 5846. Different starting points and special rules can apply to anonymous works, works disclosed after death and related rights. Do not treat an unknown publication date as proof that a work is in the public domain.

Exceptions and Permissions

Turkish law contains specific limitations, including conditions for quotation, education and personal use. It does not provide a general US-style “fair use” defence that makes any short excerpt or non-commercial use automatically lawful. Check the applicable statutory exception, purpose, extent of use and attribution; otherwise obtain a licence. Software and audiovisual uses can involve additional rights and exceptions.

What If a Work Is Used Without Permission?

Available civil routes can include stopping or preventing infringement, claims relating to unauthorised use of economic rights and damages where the statutory conditions are met. Article 68 allows a right holder, in covered circumstances, to claim an amount up to three times the hypothetical contractual fee or applicable value; it is not an automatic award in every dispute. Preserve the work, licence history, infringing copies, dates and evidence of commercial use before choosing a remedy.

Official Sources

See the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's English translation of Law No. 5846, its guidance on protection and voluntary registration, and its mandatory-registration guidance. Check the Turkish text and current procedure for a transaction.