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Intellectual Rights in the Laws of Iran
By TehranAvenue Summary
crossroad@tehranavenue.com
August 2006
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The following is a short summary of how the rights of artists are represented in the laws of Iran.

The Law Protecting the Rights of Authors and Artists was ratified in 1969. The second Article states that all written material, whether books or essays, scientific, literary or artistic in nature, poetry, songs, anthem and musical works, published or not, and any work, visual or audio, intended for exhibition, for staging, for screening, or for broadcasting in movie theaters, television, radio, whether in the form of painting, drawing, geographical maps, calligraphy, or any decorative work, any sculpture or architectural plan, including design or sketch, photography, handicrafts, rug patterns, or any work based on folklore or national heritage done in a creative way, is protected by this law and the exclusive right of the work remains with its originator.

[::] It is the originator that will decide how to publish, distribute or present the work
[::] The originator's rights cannot be transferred to another person
[::] should she/he have an inheritor This right is also applicable for 30 year after the death of the originator; otherwise, the same right is transferred to a public, cultural institution for the same duration of time.
[::] Works that have many originators, provided that they cannot be distinguished, are the property of all the originators.
[::] Works that are commissioned will remain the property of their commissioner unless otherwise agreed, but all awards or monetary payments or bonuses resulting from the participation of the commissioned work in artistic, scientific, or literary contests belongs to the originator of the work.
[::] Should works possess characteristics peculiar to them, they will also be covered by the law.
[::] No modifications in the work protected by this law is permissible unless with the permission of it originator.

We should add that the law only protects works that are first created or shown or presented in Iran. The law also provisions punishments for those who have infringed on the rights of the originator.

[::] Anyone using a work without permission, whether intentionally or not, and distribute it under a different name will be punished by a prison terms of 6 months to 2 years.
[::] Works of translation, any use of the work without permission will result in 3 months to a year of prison.

This law was re-approved by the post-revolutionary parliament in 2000, with amendments that included scientific reports and computer software.



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