Turkish court rules against author Elif Safak in plagiarism case

By Irem Demir

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Turkish court ordered novelist Elif Safak and the Türkiye-based Dogan Kitap Publishing House to pay both financial and moral damages in a plagiarism case.

The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Iclal Mine Kirikkanat, who claimed that Safak's Bit Palas (The Flea Palace) bore similarities to her own book, Sinek Sarayi.

"The similarity between Elif Safak's 'Bit Palas,' first published in 2001, and 'Sinek Sarayi,' first published in 1990, goes beyond mere coincidence. Examining the plot, characters, setting, and chronological consistency in both books, it is concluded that Elif Safak not only took inspiration but extensively benefited from both the title and content of Mine Kırıkkanat's book 'Sinek Sarayi,' to the extent that it amounts to plagiarism, the court said.

"It is acknowledged that this appropriation constitutes a violation of Mine Kırıkkanat's rights under the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works," it added.

It ordered that the financial and material compensation will be paid by France-born Safak, several of whose books, including Bit Palas, have been bestsellers in Türkiye and internationally.

The court also ruled that the publishing company is liable for material compensation and moral damages.

It acknowledged the right of appeal within a two-week period for both parties.

"On October 19, 2021, the plagiarism case I filed against Elif Şafak resulted in my favor. The 1st Anatolian Intellectual and Industrial Rights Court of Istanbul, as detailed in the attached reasoned decision, ruled that Elif Safak's novel 'Bit Palas' is a plagiarism of my novel 'Sinek Saray,' Kırıkkanat said on X, thanking her legal team.

The legal dispute was initiated when Iclal Mine Kirikkanat's attorney submitted a petition to the court, stating that her work, Sinek Sarayi, was published in 1990.

The petition alleged that Elif Safak's Bit Palas, first published in 2002 and subsequently by Dogan Kitap from 2009 onwards, exhibited plagiarism beyond the 60th page, including plot, setting, certain characters, and writing style from Kirikkanat's book.

In response, the Türkiye-based Dogan Kitap Publishing House argued in its defense petition that the allegations lacked legal basis and requested the dismissal of the lawsuit.

Safa, renowned for her bestsellers The Forty Rules of Love and The Bastard of Istanbul among others, stated in her defense that the claims of inspiration between Bit Palas and Sinek Sarayi were unfounded both in literary and legal terms, urging the court to reject the lawsuit.