NEWSLETTER-2019-metin

Employers’ Rights on Intellectual and Artistic Works Created by Employees* Att. Hazel Coskun Baylan Introduction Protection of intellectual and artistic works and their authors is one of the most important factors for cultural development. Legal pro- tection encourages entrepreneurs and promotes innovation, thus con- tributes to the growth of the economy. Today, most of the intellectual and artistic works are created by the employees within the scope of the employment relationship. Therefore, the protection of the author’s rights, on the one hand, and balancing the rights of the employer and the employee, on the other hand, are essential elements for the growth of business life. Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works numbered 5846 (“Law”) adopts the reality of the creation principle. According to this principle, and as stated under Article 1/B(b) and Article 8 of the Law, the author of the work is the person who created it 1 . However, if the work is cre- ated by an employee during the performance of the employee’s duties and obligations arising out of the employment contract, the employer also has rights arising out of the Law. As per Article 18/2 of the Law, “ The employer is authorized to use the rights of the works created during the course of the employment unless otherwise is understood from the contract between the parties or from the job the employee has undertaken. ” The Law rejects the approach of employers being acknowledged as the author of the work, but rather accepts that the * Article of November2019 1 The creator of the copyright work ipso jure becomes the author of the work after the creation. Although Article 13/3 designates that all works within the scope of the Law may be registered, this registration process is voluntary; therefore, the registration does not have a constituent effect.