Gaming IP Law in Turkey: Trademarks, Copyright, Designs & Character Protection

In gaming, intellectual property is the product. Your code, art style, character designs, UI, lore, music, and brand identity are not “supporting materials”—they are the assets that drive revenue, valuation, and exit opportunities. If those assets are not protected and contractually controlled, the studio’s business model becomes fragile: publishers hesitate, investors discount the deal, and enforcement becomes reactive, expensive, and uncertain.

Turkey offers a structured IP framework that can work extremely well for game studios, publishers, and esports brands—if the protection strategy is built as a system rather than a single registration. The legal foundation is largely split across two pillars:

1. Copyright under the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works (Law No. 5846), which protects eligible creative outputs and software-related works through author rights (moral and economic).
2. Industrial property rights under the Industrial Property Code (Law No. 6769), covering trademarks and designs (among other rights) and providing registration-based tools that are critical for commercialization and enforcement.

This article explains how to use copyright, trademarks, and designs together—plus a practical “character protection” toolkit—to build a defensible IP portfolio for games and esports-facing IP in Turkey.

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1) The “IP Stack” in Games: What each right actually protects

Think of a game as a layered product:

• Brand layer: studio name, game title, logos, sub-brands, esports team marks
• Content layer: code, narrative, art, characters, music, SFX, cinematics
• Look-and-feel layer: distinctive visual appearance of product components (and sometimes “design-style” outputs)
• Commercial layer: merchandising, licensing, distribution, marketing, sponsorships
• Operational layer: builds, tools, pipelines, confidential know-how, business strategy

No single right covers everything. The winning approach is to combine:

• Copyright (fast, automatic upon creation; powerful for content theft and derivative use)
• Trademarks (best for name/logo identity, storefront authenticity, anti-counterfeit action)
• Design protection (useful for certain visual shapes/appearances—registered or unregistered—depending on the asset type and disclosure strategy)

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2) Copyright in Turkey: The backbone of game content protection

2.1. Are video games protected under Turkish copyright law?

From a practical standpoint, yes—games can be protected through copyright, but the protection is usually “multi-component.” A game contains several protectable elements (software/code, visual works, music, cinematics, etc.) and each layer may be assessed under the copyright framework. This approach is commonly discussed in Turkish legal commentary on digital games and software protection.

Law No. 5846 is designed to protect authors’ moral and economic rights in eligible works and regulate exploitation conditions and sanctions for unlawful exploitation.

Practical consequence: you don’t “copyright the game” in one sentence. You secure chain of title and licensing for each key creative component—then you enforce as a bundle.

2.2. Software and code: “software” may not be named, but protection is real

A recurring confusion is that the word “software” is not always used as a standalone term in the main codes, yet computer programs are commonly protected through copyright logic and may also intersect with other IP rights depending on the asset. This is a known point emphasized in professional Turkish IP analysis.

Best practice for studios: treat your repository and build system like legal evidence:

• keep clear version histories and authorship records
• document contractors’ deliverables and payment milestones
• preserve “first creation” proof (timestamps, source control logs, release notes)

2.3. Moral rights: the hidden risk in publishing and localization

Turkey’s copyright tradition is often described as strong on moral rights, and legal commentary highlights that software-related works are not automatically carved out from moral-rights discussions.

Why this matters in gaming:

• localization and censorship edits can trigger disputes
• character redesigns and patch changes can create author-credit conflicts
• trailers, remix edits, and marketing adaptations can raise attribution issues

Contract tip: your publishing and outsourcing contracts should include a clear framework for credits, edits, adaptations, and approvals, aligned with the business reality of live-service updates.

2.4. Chain of title: the #1 reason studios lose leverage

Investors and publishers will ask one question early: “Do you own (or control) everything you’re licensing?” This includes:

• employees’ work outputs
• freelancers’ art/music/voice contributions
• middleware and third-party asset licenses
• fonts, motion capture, stock SFX, and AI-generated components (if any)

In Turkey, professional analyses underline that ownership of works created in an employment/engagement context depends on legal structuring and documentation, and studios must avoid assuming ownership without proper written instruments.

Minimum legal kit (studio-side):

• employment IP clauses (and/or separate IP assignment)
• freelancer IP assignment + waiver/consent style language where appropriate
• contributor credit policy (so marketing never becomes a legal dispute)
• third-party asset ledger (license scope, attribution, redistribution rights)

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3) Character protection in Turkey: No single “character right,” but a powerful toolbox

Clients often ask: “How do I protect my character?” In Turkey, the answer is usually a combined strategy:

3.1. Copyright protection for character art and narrative expression

Your character’s:

• concept art, model sheets, textures
• signature visual elements
• written backstory, dialogues, and story arc elements (to the extent protectable)

…are typically positioned within the copyright framework as creative expressions.

Practical enforcement angle: when a competitor copies a “look-alike” character, your strongest case is often:

• side-by-side artistic similarity analysis
• evidence of access (timing, exposure, portfolio overlap)
• chain-of-title proof that your studio holds rights

3.2. Trademark protection for character names, logos, and merchandising identity

Even if the character’s art is copyrighted, the character’s name and emblematic identifiers should usually be trademarked—especially if you plan:

• merch (apparel, toys, collectibles)
• transmedia (comics, series, animation)
• esports branding and team cosmetics

Trademarks are governed under Law No. 6769 and administered through Turkey’s official trademark system (TÜRKPATENT).

3.3. Design protection where relevant to product appearance

If you commercialize the character as a product (e.g., figurines, collectible designs, product packaging), design registration can become a serious anti-counterfeit weapon depending on how the product is presented. Turkey recognizes registered and (in some contexts) unregistered design protection with different durations and conditions.

Commercial logic:

• Copyright helps against copying of the creative expression.
• Trademark helps against confusingly similar branding/identity in commerce.
• Design protection can help against lookalike product forms in merchandising.

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4) Trademark strategy for games and esports: How to protect titles, studios, and in-game brands

4.1. What should you trademark in gaming?

A robust gaming trademark portfolio usually includes:

• Studio name and logo
• Game title (and key logos)
• Series/expansion names
• Esports team name/logo (if applicable)
• Signature in-game brand names (only if commercially meaningful)

In Turkey, trademark classification follows the Nice Classification framework and TÜRKPATENT provides a Nice-based classification guide and tooling to identify relevant classes for goods/services.

4.2. Class selection: a practical map for gaming businesses

While class strategy must be tailored to the business model, common patterns include:

• Class 9 (software, downloadable game programs, recorded media / tech equipment context) — often a core class for digital games.
• Class 41 (entertainment services; esports events; providing online entertainment) — important for esports and live/online play positioning.
• Class 42 (software services, SaaS-type services) — relevant if you offer game services, platform tools, backend services, or developer tooling.
• Merch-related classes (e.g., apparel) if you actively monetize physical goods (class selection depends on the product set and roadmap).

Strategic tip: Don’t over-file “everything.” Overbroad filings can be costly and harder to defend. File for what you realistically use or plan to use, and build a portfolio with your product roadmap.

4.3. Titles and series names: avoid the “late trademark” mistake

Studios often wait until launch to trademark. That can be too late:

• a third party may file earlier
• marketplaces and social handles may be taken
• rebranding costs become massive

Practical approach: trademark clearance and filing should happen before:

• public demo releases
• festival submissions
• publisher announcements
• esports league participation

4.4. In-game virtual goods and new tech classification (if relevant)

If you plan to sell virtual goods, skins, or run marketplaces, classification nuances may arise. Professional commentary notes that newly emerging technology goods/services can require careful class wording and strategy even when official guidance may not be highly detailed.

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5) Design protection in Turkey: When visuals deserve a separate right

5.1. Registered vs unregistered design protection

Turkey’s design framework under Law No. 6769 is often summarized as:

• Registered designs: protection typically starts from filing and lasts in 5-year periods, renewable up to a total of 25 years.
• Unregistered designs: legal commentary describes shorter protection (commonly referenced as 3 years) under specific conditions tied to first public disclosure in Turkey.

Why this matters for gaming: design protection can be commercially meaningful for:

• physical merchandise forms (collectibles, figurines, accessories)
• packaging and product design
• distinctive UI/device-related visual elements where the design regime is applicable

5.2. Practical filing strategy: timing is everything

Design rights are extremely sensitive to:

• novelty
• individual character
• disclosure timing

If you plan to file design registrations, coordinate:

• teaser reveals
• merch prototypes
• influencer drops
• convention sales

A well-timed design filing can be a powerful pre-emptive enforcement tool against lookalike products.

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6) Building an enforceable portfolio: Contracts + evidence + enforcement routes

Protection is not only registration. A strong IP system has three legs:

6.1. Contracts that reflect real production

For studios, the most important documents often are:

• employee invention/creation clauses and IP assignment logic
• freelancer and outsourcing agreements (art, music, voice, localization, QA)
• publisher agreements (scope, derivative works, marketing rights, termination and reversion)
• NDAs and confidential information policies for builds, roadmaps, and monetization strategy

Without these, enforcement becomes a debate about ownership instead of an infringement debate.

6.2. Evidence discipline: enforce like a business, not like a hobby

If a dispute happens, you need clean proof of:

• creation timeline
• authorship and rights chain
• marketplace listings and screenshots (date-stamped)
• downloads, sales, and confusion evidence (for trademarks)
• product comparisons (for design/copyright disputes)

Studios that build evidence discipline early usually settle faster and on better terms.

6.3. Enforcement: match the tool to the infringement

• Counterfeit merch / confusing brand use: trademark + design
• Copied art assets, music, cinematics: copyright
• Cloned gameplay UI, similar aesthetics: sometimes copyright; sometimes design (depending on the asset); always fact-specific
• Character knockoffs: combine copyright + trademark identity + design for physical manifestations

Turkey’s unified industrial property code and its trademark/design frameworks provide the backbone for registration-based enforcement.

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7) Common gaming IP mistakes in Turkey (and how to prevent them)

Mistake 1: “We’ll handle IP after the game is successful.”

By then, the name may be taken, the character may be copied, and your leverage disappears.

Fix: file core trademarks early; lock chain-of-title at the first contractor engagement.

Mistake 2: One contract for everything

A single “general agreement” often fails to handle moral rights, licensing, credits, derivative works, and live ops updates coherently.

Fix: separate modules (development/IP, publishing/license, content/marketing, merch/licensing).

Mistake 3: No class strategy

Studios file only in one class, or file too broadly without use.

Fix: align Nice class selection to roadmap and monetization model using official class guidance tools.

Mistake 4: Merchandise is treated as “later”

Merch is where character rights become real money—and real counterfeiting risk.

Fix: trademark names/logos + consider design registration for product forms; align with disclosure strategy.

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8) A “client-ready” IP checklist for studios, publishers and esports brands

If you want a practical action plan that instantly upgrades your legal posture, use this checklist:

Studio / Publisher IP Checklist

1. Chain-of-title file (employees, contractors, third-party assets)
2. Core trademark filings (studio + flagship title + key logos)
3. Class strategy (Class 9 / 41 / 42 as relevant; merch classes if monetizing)
4. Character toolkit (art bible, name/logo marks, merch plan, licensing templates)
5. Design strategy for physical merchandise and product forms; plan filing vs disclosure
6. Publishing/Distribution contract review (scope, derivatives, reversion, marketing rights)
7. Enforcement playbook (notice letters, platform takedown workflow, evidence capture)

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Conclusion: Protecting game IP in Turkey is not “one filing”—it’s an ecosystem

A game’s commercial value is rarely only in the current build. It lives in the brand, the characters, the visual identity, and the portfolio’s licensing potential. Turkey’s legal architecture—copyright under Law No. 5846 and industrial property rights under Law No. 6769—can support a strong gaming business, but only if protection is engineered as a system: contracts + registrations + evidence + enforcement readiness.

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If you are a game studio, publisher, or esports brand operating in or targeting Turkey and you need a tailored IP roadmap (trademark class strategy, copyright chain-of-title, design filings for merchandising, character licensing structure, and enforcement planning), professional legal support can significantly reduce risk and increase licensing and investment readiness.

This text is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.