Intellectual property term is used to express intellectual assets as intellectual and art works arose out of a creative activity, patents, brands, utility models, designs, geographical indications, integrated circuit topographies and new plant species; the term of intellectual property rights expresses the rights on these intellectual assets.
Intellectual property rights are “the rights given to persons for their intellectual creativity” and usually is used in the meaning that “giving a special right to the owner (creator) to use the created asset in a specific time period”. That is, it states the ownership on intangible assets. The common feature of all intangible assets is being abstracted from time and place, that is, being intellectual products that can be renewed at anywhere and any place without their content is changed. Intellectual rights are independent from tangible assets that make the right visible to the world; what is important is the role of the human intelligence on the idea, the creative intellectual work, tools are used just to transfer and broadcast the intellectual asset.
Rights on scientific and literal works, cinema works, musical works, virtue, computer programmes and databases and like, which are among the generally known intellectual rights, express intellectual rights in the strict sense. Intellectual rights in a broad sense however, include also the rights on the industrial property as inventions, brands, industrial designs and models, geographical indications besides the scientific and literal works and cinematographic works that arose out of a human creative activity.
Intellectual rights express the rights given to the creator of the intellectual property to give or not give permission to third persons to utilize his/her intellectual property for avoiding unjust utilization of them, that is, it aim to protect the rights of the owner of the intellectual property and regulate his/her relationships with the ones who use the rights.
Copyright, which is one of the intellectual property rights, arises by itself when the intellectual property has been generated without a necessity of any registration or declaration, however, industrial property rights like patent, utility model, brand and design to be arisen it has to be registered by an executive organ (as Turkish Patent Institution).
We can divide the intellectual property rights into two topics: rights on literary and artistic works as well as related rights and industrial rights:
A. Literary and Artistic Works
- Scientific and Literal Works
- Musical Works
- Virtue
- Cinema works
- Processing and Collation Works
- Databases
Related Rights;
- Rights of Performance Artists
- Rights of Phonogram Producers
- Rights of Radio – TV Organizations
- Rights of Film Producers
B. Industrial Property Rights
- Trademarks,
- Patents
- Designs
- Utility Models
- Integrated Circuit Topographies
- Geographical Indications
- New Plant Species
- Biotechnological Inventions
If rights of right owners of intellectual property rights are violated, there are several protection mechanisms that can be applied by right owners. The primary lawsuits can be brought and the claims can be submitted to courts by right owners are:
In case of violation related to Literary and Artistic Works:
- Declaratory action for owner of work
- Action for revocation of breach
- Actio negatoria
- Declaratory action for breach
- Libel suit in case of breach of incorporeal rights
- Libel suit in case of violation of personal interests
- Material compensation suit in case of incorporeal rights
- Material compensation and libel suits in case of violation of material rights
- Criminal actions can be taken in case of breach of material and incorporeal rights
- Demands resulting from notional acting without authority
In case of violation of Brand Rights:
- Action for recording of evidence
- Action for ceasing and preventing infringement
- Declaratory judgment action for infringement
- Action for infringement
- Action for material compensation
- Libel suit
- Action for nominal damages
- Seizure and destruction of infringing the materials and equipment used predominantly to commit the offense.
- Granting ownership rights on the products.
- Removing and destruction of trademarks.
- Notification to relevant persons and announcement to the public through publishing of the award.
- Criminal suits can be brought in the cases that the act constitutes a crime
In case of Violation of Patent and Industrial Design Rights:
- Action for recording of evidence
- Action for ceasing and preventing infringement
- Declaratory action for infringement
- Action for infringement
- Action for material compensation
- Libel suit
- Action for nominal damages
- Seizure and destruction of infringing the materials and equipment used predominantly to commit the offense.
- Granting ownership rights on the products.
- Change of shape and destruction when needed.
- Notification to relevant persons and announcement to the public through publishing of the award.
- Action on non-existence of infringement
- Criminal suits can be brought in the cases that the act constitutes a crime
Actions and Demands for Protecting Integrated Circuit Topographies:
- Action for recording of evidence
- Action of infringement
- Seizure and destruction of infringing the materials and equipment used predominantly to commit the offense.
- Transfer of ownership of material produced as a result of infringement and the equipment used directly while producing them.
- Taking preventive measures for continuation of breach (changing the shape of the tools, demolition of them, etc)
- Notification to relevant persons and announcement to the public through publishing of the award
- Action for material compensation
- Libel suit
- Demanding the documents proving breach
- Lost revenue
- Action for and objection to the decisions of TPI
- Non-existence and recording of infringement
- Criminal suits can be brought in the cases that the act constitutes a crime
Actions and Demands for New Plant Species:
- Action of infringement
- Seizure and destruction of infringing the materials and equipment used predominantly to commit the offense.
- Transfer of ownership of material produced as a result of infringement and the equipment used directly while producing them.
- Taking preventive measures for continuation of breach (changing the shape of the tools, demolition of them, etc)
- Notification to relevant persons and announcement to the public through publishing of the award
- Action for material compensation
- Libel suit
- Lost revenue
- Action for worth
- Action for non-existing infringement
- Declaratory action
- Criminal suits can be brought in the cases that the act constitutes a crime
In case of Violation of Rights Related to Utility Models:
- Action for nullity of utility model certificate.
- Criminal suits can be brought in the cases that the act constitutes a crime
Actions can be taken and claims can be submitted related to industrial rights specified above are also applied to the other industrial rights when appropriate.