What Can Be Done in the Event of Copyright Infringement?

In the event of copyright infringement, civil or criminal proceedings may be initiated.

Circumstances in Which Criminal Proceedings May Be Initiated

By infringing the moral, financial or related rights pertaining to the literary and artistic works protected under this Law:

• Processing, performing, reproducing, modifying, distributing, communicating to the public and publishing a work, performance, phonogram or production without the written permission of the copyright holder.
• Offering for sale, selling, renting or lending works that have been unlawfully produced or reproduced, or distributing them in any other manner, purchasing them for commercial purposes, importing or exporting them, possessing or storing them for purposes other than personal use,
• Attributing someone else’s work as one’s own creation,
• Quoting from a work without citing the source,
• Making public statements about the content of an unpublished work without the permission of the copyright holder,
• Inadequate, incorrect or misleading citation of sources in relation to a work,
• Reproducing, distributing, broadcasting or publishing a work, performance, phonogram or production by using the name of another recognised person,
• The production, offering for sale, sale or possession for purposes other than personal use of programmes or technical equipment designed to circumvent additional programmes created to prevent the unlawful copying of a computer programme.
• Acting contrary to the rules regarding the bandrol, as detailed in Article 81 of the FSEK.
• Pursuant to Article 4 of the Annex to the Law, in the event of a violation of the rights recognised in this Law by service and information content providers using tools for the transmission of signs, sounds and/or images, including digital transmission, the rights holders shall be notified that the infringing works shall be removed from the content within three days upon their request. If the request is not complied with, upon application to the public prosecutor, the service provider shall be requested to suspend the service provided to the information content provider continuing the infringement within three days. If the infringement is stopped, the service shall be resumed to the information content provider. However, if the infringement is not stopped, the information content provider’s act shall constitute a crime under the Copyright Law.

Procedure to be Followed in Criminal Cases

The author or related rights holders or authorised professional association shall apply to the public prosecutor’s office of the place where the infringement occurred or its consequences arose. Upon complaint, the public prosecutor shall take the necessary steps to seize the items in question as a protective measure in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271. The public prosecutor may also, if deemed necessary, decide to suspend the activity limited to the reproduction of the works alleged to have been reproduced unlawfully. However, this decision shall be submitted to the judge for approval within twenty-four hours. A decision not approved by the judge within twenty-four hours shall be void.

Legal Proceedings

Where there is a risk of infringement of moral and financial rights

• Pursuant to Article 68 of the Copyright Law, an author whose work has been used without permission may claim up to three times the amount they could have demanded had a contract been concluded, or the fair market value determined in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
• Rape prevention case
• Compensation claims

In legal proceedings, claims for both moral and material damages may be sought as compensation. In cases of unlawful acts such as failing to credit the author’s name or altering the work, as listed in previous sections, moral damages may be sought in the form of a monetary amount proportional to the parties’ financial capacity and the severity of the incident. A sum commensurate with the damage suffered and loss of profit may also be claimed in relation to financial rights such as distribution, reproduction, performance, and communication to the public. In addition, in cases of infringement of moral and financial rights, the profit obtained by the person acting unlawfully may also be claimed; however, the sum claimed under Article 68 of the Copyright Law shall be deducted from this amount.

Cases relating to the Copyright Law also constitute tortious acts and are therefore subject to limitation periods of one and ten years pursuant to Article 60 of the Law of Obligations. If the infringement of financial rights also constitutes a criminal offence, the longer criminal limitation period applies. These cases are brought in accordance with general provisions at the defendant’s place of residence or where the tortious act occurred. Pursuant to Article 66 of the FSEK, actions for the prevention and removal of infringement may also be brought in the court of the plaintiff’s domicile.