NEWSLETTER-2017

309 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW Intellectual Property Rights of the Employers* Att. Yesim Tokgoz Technology is improving at lightning speed. In time, brain-power will be neededmore thanman-power. Today, everything is more digital, visual and mechanic. Countries that create, manage, and realize these developments have begun to educate their younger generations in new areas, such as software and design. The reflection of this evolution in work life has shown itself in working conditions and job definitions. Employers aim to become a part of this power by providing conditions that help their employees to increase their creativity, and by promoting them. However, a crucial question arises: Who will be the owner of the oeuvres created? Is it the employers who provide the efficient environ- ment and necessary equipment, or the employees who use their minds, education and creativity? Within this article, we will shed light on the ownership and rights of these oeuvres pursuant to the Law on Intel- lectual and Artistic Works (“LIAW”), the Law on Industrial Property (IP Law), and the regulations under the Law of Obligations (“LO”) pertaining to contract of service provisions. Moreover, we will refer to the rights in line with contracts of work pursuant to the LO. Relationship between the Employee and Employer Pursuant to Article 2.d of the IP Law, the employee is defined as the person and the public official who are obliged to fulfill tasks in line with the instructions of an employer under the supervening principle pertaining to a private law contract or other such legal relations. The first section of this article will be applicable to the actors of the labor contracts regulated under the Labor Law and the contract of services regulated under the LO, Art. 393 ff., such as officers who work in re- search and development departments, designers who work in the ate- * Article of April 2017