Copyright Infringement Lawsuits in Turkey: Determination, Injunction and Damages

Printing a book without permission, copying software without a licence, publishing a photograph without attribution, or communicating a musical work to the public without consent — under Turkish law each of these is a copyright infringement, and each opens concrete legal avenues for the rights holder. Turkey's Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (FSEK) gives the author both civil and criminal protection. This article walks through how copyright in human-authored works is enforced in Turkey: the determination of infringement, injunctive relief, and the damages process, step by step.

Works and Copyright Under FSEK

Under FSEK Article 1/B, a "work" is an intellectual or artistic product that bears the individual character of its author and falls within one of the categories of literature-science, music, fine arts, or cinema. Novels, articles, computer programs, photographs, compositions, designs and architectural projects all qualify. Protection arises automatically the moment the work is created; registration is not required. Under FSEK Article 27, economic rights are protected, as a rule, throughout the author's life and for 70 years after death.

An author's rights fall into two groups: moral rights (disclosure to the public, attribution of authorship, prohibition of alteration) and economic rights (adaptation, reproduction, distribution, performance, communication to the public). Unauthorised use of any of these constitutes infringement. Under FSEK Article 80, related rights holders — performers, phonogram producers, film producers — enjoy the same remedies.

Civil Remedies: Removal, Injunction and Damages

FSEK sets out civil actions in its fifth chapter. A rights holder has three core claims:

• Removal of infringement (Art. 66): eliminating the ongoing consequences of the infringement. Crucially, this action does not require fault on the infringer's part — the mere existence of infringement is enough.
• Injunction / prevention (Art. 69): stopping a probable infringement, or halting an existing one and preventing its repetition. In practice, suspension of distribution, sale or broadcast is sought through this route.
• Damages (Art. 70): a person whose moral rights are harmed may claim moral damages (Art. 70/1); a person whose economic rights are infringed may claim material damages where the infringer is at fault (Art. 70/2). The profit gained through the infringement may also be claimed (Art. 70/3).

For infringement of economic rights, FSEK Article 68 introduces a distinctive calculation: the rights holder may demand up to three times the amount that could have been requested had a contract been concluded. This is a powerful deterrent against unauthorised use. Where the work is used in a manner that damages the author's honour and reputation (Arts. 14 and 16), that reputational harm is assessed within moral damages. The prevailing party may also request publication of the judgment in a newspaper under Article 78.

The Criminal Dimension and Securing Evidence

Copyright piracy carries criminal as well as civil consequences. FSEK Article 71 provides imprisonment from one to five years or a judicial fine for anyone who adapts, reproduces, distributes, sells or communicates a work to the public without the rights holder's written consent. Passing off another's work as one's own, and quotation without attribution (plagiarism), are separately punished in the same article. Reproduction and distribution in breach of the banderole (holographic seal) obligation is punished under Article 81 with imprisonment from three to seven years. As a rule, prosecution of these offences depends on the rights holder's complaint.

Proving infringement is the heart of the case. To prevent evidence from disappearing, a court may be asked for determination of evidence and interim injunctions before suit; under FSEK Article 77 the court may order unauthorised copies and reproduction equipment to be secured, and temporary seizure at customs may apply. FSEK Article 76 provides that, where the claimant submits sufficient evidence, the court may require the other side to produce its licence documents — and failure to do so raises a presumption of unauthorised use.

Practical Guidance for Foreign Rights Holders

Because Turkey is a party to the Berne Convention and TRIPS, foreign authors, publishers, software companies and photographers can claim protection for their works in Turkey without any separate registration. Under FSEK Article 76, these cases are heard by the specialised Intellectual and Industrial Property Civil and Criminal Courts; where such courts do not sit, the civil courts of first instance take over. In practice we advise: document the infringement with screenshots, notarial determination and proof of purchase; seek an interim injunction quickly; and weigh the cost-benefit of litigation expenses against the treble-payment claim in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Must I have registered the work to bring a copyright claim? No. FSEK protection arises automatically the moment the work is created; registration is not constitutive. That said, dated publication records, contracts and optional registration provide strong evidence of authorship.

Can I sue even if the infringer was not at fault? Yes. Removal (Art. 66) and injunction (Art. 69) actions do not require fault. Material damages (Art. 70/2), however, require the infringer's fault; moral damages and the payment claim under Article 68 are subject to separate rules.

How do I calculate my loss? For infringement of economic rights, the most practical route is FSEK Article 68: you may claim up to three times the going licence rate you could have charged. Moral damages and the profit the infringer gained may also be in play.

Are copyright offences prosecuted automatically in Turkey? As a rule, no; the copyright offences in FSEK depend on complaint. No prosecution begins without a complaint by the rights holder or an authorised representative.

How Mona Hukuk Can Help

Copyright infringement calls for a fast, strategic response; delay costs both evidence and mounting losses. At Mona Hukuk we provide end-to-end legal support to Turkish and foreign rights holders across determination of infringement, interim injunctions, removal and prevention actions, damages claims and criminal complaints.

For consultation in Antalya, write to contact@monahukuk.com or call +90 (242) 606 14 32.