One of the most striking developments in the music industry in 2023 was the release of the song “Heart on my Sleeves” by an anonymous user named “Ghostwriter” using the AI-created voices of world-famous singers Drake and the Weekend. However, the song “Heart on my Sleeves” did not exist in the music market for a long time due to the removal of the song from the relevant platforms after Universal Music filed a notice of intellectual property infringement. Although the song was…
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Digital fonts combine aesthetics and functionality as a key element of modern design and digital communication. A digital font consists of codes that define how it shall appear on screen[1]. These codes enable fonts to be created and used in the digital environment. In this scope, whether fonts expressed as computer software can be protected under the umbrella of intellectual property law has been subject of various debates. This article aims to discuss how fonts can be…
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Work titles, as signs that distinguish one work from others, may also be protected independently of the work itself. Article 83 of the Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (“LIAW”) provides a general framework for this protection. Although it is stated in judicial decisions that the name of the work, although it is not a work in itself, will benefit from copyright protection as a part of the work only if it emerges as an effort that makes the work effective by…
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Digital technologies continue to influence and transform the printed publication industry, much like their impact in various other sectors. Within this scope, the European Union (“EU) adopted the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (“the Directive”) to improve copyright laws to better address the challenges arising from the complexities brought by the digital environment.
The Directive, as we reported in our articles published in previous years[1], brings…
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The Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works ("LIAW"), which has been amended many times since its entry into force in 1952, still causes uncertainty and confusion in practice. The 2022 decision of the Court of Cassation[1] and the recent decision of the 16th Civil Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeals[2] have been a very guiding and clarifying decision in terms of examining the signs of the work, which are controversial in practice, and the amendments made to LIAW…
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Article 83 of Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (“LIAW”) stipulates that the names of works can be protected independently of the works themselves under the provisions on unfair competition. Our assessment of this protection is discussed in our article, 'Protection of Work Titles'
An important aspect of work title protection is their registration as trademarks. In practice, it is common for elements of cinematographic works, such as characters and locations, as…
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