Entry
Artificial intelligence, which has become an indispensable part of the digitalized world, continues to develop and change day by day. This change brings with it new question marks. While there are countless opinions and studies put forward to find an answer to these questions, it is impossible to talk about a clear solution yet due to the gap in the laws.
It is clear that today's laws need to be revised in order to keep up with the digital world, and this need will always exist, unless the development of technology has come to a standstill.
One of the problems that are tried to be solved is undoubtedly the issue of who will own the rights of the works produced by artificial intelligence. However, it is not possible to directly answer this question. First of all, it should be examined whether the product produced is a work and the producer has the qualification of being the owner of the work and whether it meets the other conditions in the law.
In short, if artificial intelligence produces products such as pictures, books and music, it is our main discussion topic whether these products can be considered as works within the meaning of the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works, and if these products are accepted as works, who will own the property and copyrights.
Therefore, the primary question for which we seek an answer is: "Is there any intellectual property right on the works produced by artificial intelligence?"
In terms of FSEK;
FSEK m. work in accordance with 1/B; It is defined as all kinds of intellectual and artistic products that have the characteristics of their owner and are counted as works of science and literature, music, fine arts or cinema. In the same article, the owner of the work is expressed as the person who created the work.
In accordance with the settled case-law of the Supreme Court; It must have the conditions of being included in one of the work groups listed in the law, not being in the stage of thought, that is, having a material and physical existence, and finally reflecting the characteristics of the owner.
The last point is important for our discussion topic. Because within the scope of this last condition, it is necessary to put forward a creative intellectual work. Therefore, it is accepted that the products produced as a result of purely mechanical phenomena are not considered works in terms of FSEK.
In the doctrine, it is argued that the features of performing a creative intellectual work and carrying the characteristics of its owner are unique to real people, and therefore, in the sense of FSEK, works can only be produced by real people.
In classical copyright law, the owner of the work is a real person. In this respect, while legal entities cannot have the title of authorship, they can own the financial rights on the work. As a matter of fact, this issue was clearly emphasized in a 2015 decision by the 11th HD of the Supreme Court.
As a result, in Turkish law, only real persons can create a work within the meaning of FSEK and have the title of owner of the work.
Legal Status of Artificial Intelligence
The personality and legal status of artificial intelligence is a matter of debate and there are various opinions on this issue. However, it is clear that he is not a real person. While there is the view that he has the status of a slave, another approach is that he is a legal person. Today, the view that it is considered as a commodity and is subject to the property of its manufacturer is dominant.
Therefore, it is clear that artificial intelligence cannot have the title of author for the products it produces. Because artificial intelligence is not considered as a person in the legal sense at the moment. However, although it is a subject of criticism in the doctrine, it is useful to state that attempts have been made to recognize a special personality for artificial intelligence. As a matter of fact, an advisory report was published by the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee on January 27, 2017, stating that artificial intelligence can be recognized as a new type of personality different from legal entity and real personality.