Özet:

Where one or more authors accept a commission to work on a project originated by a publisher, Turkish Code of Obligations Art. 501 provides that the economic rights, which constitute the subject matter of the contract, belong to the publisher. Although at first sight this provision may seem to be conflicting with the “principle of creativity” and Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works Art. 8 para. 1, Art. 18 para. 2 and Art. 18 para. 3, there is actually a hidden loophole. This hidden loophole should be closed through limiting the scope of application of the provision to those cases where the authors, who accept a commission to work on a project by a publisher, do not engage in any creative activity and are recognized only as assistants. In cases where the publisher is a legal person, taking into consideration the principles “lex posterior derogat legi priori” and “lex specialis derogat legi generali”, Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works Art. 18 para. 2, which is the previously enacted and more spesific provision compared to Turkish Code of Obligations Art. 501, should be primarily applied. However, Turkish Code of Obligations Art. 501 should still be reformulated as a general provision which provides that the publisher does not have the obligations to reproduce or distribute the work and leaves the solution of the problem of authorship to the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works

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