Protection of intellectual rights against violations on social media

Since the invention of the printing press, copyrights have become an important issue today. With the increase in the number of social media platforms and users, copyright problems in the virtual environment are also increasing. With the development and spread of social media, classical works have been moved to these platforms. In addition, unlike the types of works included in the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works, content that is the product of intellectual labor is also encountered on these platforms. Due to the interactive nature of social media, these contents need to be evaluated in terms of copyright law. Because sharing and reproduction activities on social media can be carried out instantly and contents can be easily delivered to large audiences. In this study, intellectual property rights violations occurring on social media and legal cases that can be filed against these violations are examined. In order to determine whether social media contents qualify as works, the concept of work in the classical sense is first examined. In this context, it is evaluated whether technological works and social media contents meet the criteria for being a work and being included in one of the work types, according to the views in the doctrine. The study concluded that social media contents can be protected as works if they meet the aforementioned conditions. Because in Turkish Law, the work can be protected regardless of the medium in which it is embodied. The scope of the study is limited to civil lawsuits that may be filed as a result of intellectual property rights violations. The issue is clarified by judicial decisions regarding intellectual property rights violations on social media.