FREEDOM OF INSPIRATION IN DESIGN RIGHTS
Design rights are regulated under the Industrial Property Code No. 6769 ('IPC'). According to the IPC, a design is defined as the appearance of the whole or a part of a product, or its ornamentation, resulting from features such as lines, shapes, forms, colors, materials, or surface textures. The term 'product' encompasses any item produced industrially or by hand, as well as complex products or their constituent parts, packaging, presentations comprising multiple objects, graphic symbols, and typographic typefaces. Under the provisions of the IPC, designs may be protected as registered designs or, provided they were first presented to the public in Türkiye, as unregistered designs.
For a design to benefit from the protection granted by the IPC, it must possess novelty and individual character. Article 56 of the IPC adopts the 'absolute novelty' criterion. In light of Court of Cassation precedents, for a design to satisfy the novelty requirement, its appearance must possess distinctive features beyond minor details compared to designs presented to the public anywhere in the world, provided it remains within the scope of the 'freedom to utilize and emulate' principle.
The principle of freedom to utilize and emulate manifests in design law as the freedom of inspiration. However, if only minor details differ between the inspired design and the new design, and a lack of originality persists, such a case shall be deemed an imitation and will not be legally protected. The invalidity of designs that exceed the boundaries of inspiration yet are nonetheless registered may be sought through litigation. In lawsuits filed for the invalidity of designs subject to Court of Cassation decisions, it is emphasized that the absolute novelty criterion must be thoroughly examined through expert analysis, while also taking the principle of freedom of inspiration into account.
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