Preliminary Injunction Issued for Halting Cem Karaca’s NFT Portrait Sale

SNEAK PEEK

  • Emrah Karaca Sues His Father’s NFT
  • Files lawsuit against painter Yiit Mohaç Yücel
  • The court restricts the sale of Cem Karaca’s NFT Portrait

A prior order has been issued in context to the lawsuit filed by Emrah Karaca, the son of the prominent Turkish rock musician and one of the most important figures in Anatolian rock music, late Cem Karaca, to halt the sale of his father’s NFT portrait.  

As confirmed with Turkish new aggregator Lafmacun, Turkish musician Emrah Karaca Sues his Father’s NFT as it was prepared for sale using a classic photograph and offered for sale in NFT format.   

Also, Turkish renowned celebrity and TV world magazine Kelebek Magazin also took their official Twitter account to confirm the news of the Late Cem Karaca.   

Emrah Karaca, through his lawyer Görkem Gökçe, filed a case in Istanbul’s 3rd Civil Court of Intellectual and Industrial Rights after getting to know that the painter Yiit Mohaç Yücel would sell a portrait of Cem Karaca for sale on the well-known NFT sales platform OpenSea

The court found that since Cem Karaca’s appearance was commercialized and the portrait created by Yücel, which was offered for sale as an NFT, was based on a photo of him, it violates the law protecting intellectual property rights.

To restrict the sale of the NFT portrait of Cem Karaca, as it was used without authorization. The court then decided to block access to the websites where the portrait was used.  

The judgment was a cornerstone, as per Gökçe, a professional in IT and technology law, who was speaking about the decision. Later on, he added to his statement and stated: 

As far as we know, this decision is the first preliminary injunction regarding NFT in Turkiye. In fact, the decision can set an example in the world.

Also, we can see the court’s judgment demonstrates that the judiciary has a strong reaction to such matters, despite the fact that there are still certain legal difficulties regarding NFTs globally and that there are relatively few cases in this regard. 

Gokce’s statement concluded that though NFTs are highly controversial at the moment, the court has shown acceptance of NFTs having an asset value. This clearly depicts the importance of NFTs and their surging popularity.