Intellectual Property Rights for Social Media Influencers in Turkey

When a social media influencer shoots a photo, produces a video or writes a post for a brand, the first thing everyone thinks about is the fee. Yet the more important question is a different one: who owns the copyright in that content? Can the brand later run the same image in its paid advertising, on billboards, or across campaigns that stretch on for years? Turkish Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (FSEK) and the Turkish Civil Code answer these questions clearly. When influencers and the brands working with them ignore this framework, the result is lost revenue and drawn-out disputes.

Who Owns the Content: The Influencer as Author

Under Article 1/B of FSEK, a "work" is an intellectual or artistic product that bears the individual character of its creator. A photograph composed with an original eye, a scripted and edited video, or a carefully written blog post all fall within this definition, and protection arises automatically the moment the content is created — no registration is required. Article 8 lays down the core rule: "The author of a work is the person who creates it."

The practical consequence is unambiguous. The influencer who actually produces the content is its author, unless an express contractual clause states otherwise. Even where the brand has paid, the economic rights in the content (reproduction, distribution, performance, communication to the public) do not transfer automatically. The brand acquires only those rights the contract expressly grants. So "I made it, therefore it stays mine" gives the influencer false comfort, and "I paid for it, so it's all mine" gives the brand equally false comfort. What governs is the wording of the contract.

Licence Scope in the Brand Collaboration Contract

Article 48 of FSEK provides that an author may transfer economic rights to others limited or unlimited as to duration, territory and content, and may also grant merely a right of use (a licence). A sound influencer–brand agreement must define each of these elements:

• Scope of use: whether the rights are assigned or licensed; the geographic limit (Turkey only or worldwide), the term (only during the campaign or perpetual) and the platform (Instagram only or every channel).
• Organic post versus paid advertising: permission for an organic post published from the influencer's own account does not cover the brand repurposing the same content as a sponsored or paid advertisement (whitelisting, dark posts, billboards). This broader use must be agreed separately and explicitly.
• Exclusivity: under Article 56, a licence is a simple (non-exclusive) licence if it does not prevent the rightholder granting the same permission to others, and an exclusive licence if reserved to one person; unless the statute or contract indicates otherwise, every licence is presumed non-exclusive. A brand wanting exclusivity (no work with competitors) must write that into the contract.

There is also a crucial formal requirement: under Article 52, contracts concerning economic rights must be in writing and must list the transferred rights separately. Oral or vague "all rights of use" language risks invalidity or narrow interpretation.

Moral Rights: Inalienable Even by Contract

Even where economic rights are transferred, the author's moral rights are strictly personal and cannot be assigned. Three matter most to influencers: the right to disclose the work to the public (Art. 14), the right to be named as author (Art. 15), and the right to prohibit modification of the work (Art. 16).

The protection is powerful. Article 16 states that even where the author has given unconditional written consent, they may still prohibit any modification that harms their honour and reputation or distorts the character of the work — and that waiving this right of prohibition is void even if agreed by contract. Article 14 likewise treats any contractual waiver of protection against a reputation-damaging manner of publication as ineffective. In short, a brand cannot manipulate content into something unrecognisable or strip out the influencer's name; these rights simply cannot be bought.

Name, Image and Personality Rights

An influencer's most valuable asset is often their own face, voice and name. These are protected separately from copyright, under personality rights. Article 24 of the Turkish Civil Code protects personality against unlawful attack; use without consent is unlawful. FSEK Article 86 adds a specific rule: even where they are not works, pictures and portraits may not be displayed or communicated to the public without the consent of the person depicted. That article expressly preserves the protection of Civil Code Article 24 as well.

In practice this means a brand may use the influencer's image, name or voice only within the scope and for the duration of the permission granted. Keeping the influencer's face in advertising after the campaign ends, carrying the image over to other products, or using their name in a competing context can amount to a separate violation of personality rights.

Practical Guidance for Influencers and Brands

For influencers who turn their own name into a personal brand, an additional layer applies: trademark registration under Industrial Property Law No. 6769. When an influencer's handle, logo, slogan or a merchandise line name is registered as a trademark before TÜRKPATENT, it gains strong exclusive protection against unauthorised third-party use. Copyright protects the content; trademark protects the commercial identity of the personal brand.

• Influencers: before producing content, settle the scope, term and any paid-advertising use of the licence in writing; price exclusivity separately; register your personal brand name and logo early.
• Brands: list every form of use you need (channel, term, territory, paid advertising, whitelisting) separately, in line with Article 52; remember moral rights cannot be assigned; obtain separate, time-limited consent for image and name use.

Frequently Asked Questions

I paid the brand — can I really not use the content in paid advertising? Most likely not, unless the contract says so expressly. Permission for an organic post does not cover sponsored or paid advertising; that broader use must be agreed separately under Article 48.

If the influencer produced the content, does copyright pass to the brand automatically? No. Under Article 8 the author is the person who created the content. The brand acquires only the rights transferred or licensed by a written contract (Art. 52).

Can I contractually remove the duty to credit the influencer? Waiving moral rights such as attribution and integrity of the work (Arts. 15, 16) to the extent it harms honour and reputation is void even by contract.

Can I keep using the influencer's face once the campaign is over? No. Under Civil Code Article 24 and FSEK Article 86, use of the image is limited to the scope and term of the consent; use after that period is a violation of personality rights.

How Mona Hukuk Can Help

As the influencer economy grows rapidly, collaborations run without a contract — or with an incomplete one — create risk for both sides. At Mona Hukuk we assist influencers and brands with drafting and negotiating collaboration agreements, defining licence scope, registering personal brands, and pursuing or defending against copyright and personality-rights infringements.

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