Document Type : Original Article from Result of Thesis
Authors
1 PhD. Student in Private Law, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor of Private Law, Department , Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations Department, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
4 Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations Department, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
Abstract
Highlights
Introduction
Intellectual property in the international community is a set of exclusive rights of the owner of a right concerning immaterial properties. The intellectual property in the international community compared to the property rights in its traditional concept in the international community include the ownership of material and tangible properties. Despite the traditional ownership, which is usually justified by referring to the theory of natural laws, the intellectual property in the international community, the idea or access, and control over the physical aspect of mental objects do not fully conform to the theory described above. It can be argued that the intellectual property in the international community is a reaction to direct social changes since without the social changes, the intellectual property in the international community would not have emerged in its current form.
Different legal systems adopted different approaches toward this subject since for some activists, intellectual property is a tool to control social changes and some others merely have a traditional view toward intellectual property. Accordingly, the question is what the international requirements of intellectual property in the international community are. How to evaluate its application in the Iranian and US laws? The research assumption includes the comparison between intellectual property in the international community and property rights in its traditional concept in the international community, i.e., the ownership of material and tangible properties. The intellectual property in the international community is a reaction to social changes due to which the intellectual property in the legal systems of activists such as the United States is an instrumentalist and it is a traditionalist viewpoint in Iran.
Considering the subject of this research and its importance, it can be stated that merely a few studies have been conducted on this subject. The following are instances of these studies:
Najafi (2021) published a descriptive-analytical article titled “A Comparative Study of the Concept and Function of Intellectual Property in Iranian and the Us Law؛ Preparation For Change”. In this article, the author concluded that the approaches of the Iranian and US laws toward intellectual property are instrumentalist and traditionalist, respectively (Najafi, 2021: 253)
Mahmoodi (2013) published a descriptive-analytical article titled “The Nature of Intellectual Property Right and its Place in Property Law”. It described and explained the legal issues of intellectual property, as well as its nature and position in the property law, it sought to explain the nature of the intellectual property and its position in property law (Mahmoodi, 2013:
94).
Accordingly, the studies suggested that there is no independent source concerning the subject of this research. The difference between this research and the previous studies is that first, this research is limited to the international requirements of intellectual properties in the international community emphasizing the Iranian and US laws. The second difference is that it sought to carry out a comparative study regarding the international requirements of intellectual property between the Iranian and US laws, which have never been studied before.
Research Methodology
This is a descriptive-analytical study and the data were collected from the library and online resources to describe the international requirements of intellectual properties in the international community emphasizing Iranian and US laws. In light of that, first, the basic concept of this research, i.e., intellectual property in the international community is described. Then, it seeks to investigate and evaluate its application in the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States.
Findings
The US enjoys an instrumentalist approach toward intellectual property. (Reid & Others, 2018:130-165), however, Iran has a traditional approach toward this right.
The first component that resulted in adopting different approaches and actions toward intellectual property in these two countries is the innate difference of this subject.
The second component is the viewpoint and basis, which aims at justifying these types of rights. In the legal system of Iran, intellectual property includes personal rights, which are included in the category of traditional rights (Rahimi Abbas & Soltani, 2006: 72-133). In the legal system of the intellectual property of the US, it is not included in the traditional category and is measured based on free competition.
The third component is to prevent any abuse. Most experts in the US have sought to develop a theory aligned with the approaches of competition rights preserving its independence. In Iran, the intellectual property system is designed to prevent any abuse, however, it still has defects. These defects provide the patent owners with the opportunity to jeopardize the interests of other activists and even the whole intellectual property with an improper generalization of its laws (Rahbari & Hosseini,2020: 164).
The fourth difference is the model of development of the intellectual property. With regard to international policies and the indices of supporting intellectual property, a model aligned with economic development is considered in the US (Intellectual Property Rights in the USA, 2022: 1-16). However, in Iran, to obtain the claims regarding high-level documents, legal duties, and state planning, a precise investigation must be carried out to identify and resolve any harm related to this subject.
Results
Intellectual property is one of the specialized branches of the law seeking to support intellectual, artistic, and literary ideas, inventions, trademarks, etc., both at the domestic and international levels. Intellectual property in the international community is a set of exclusive rights of the owner of a right concerning immaterial properties. In accordance with some activists, intellectual property is a tool to control social changes and some others merely have a traditional view toward intellectual property.
Intellectual property is not a problem or an action, yet it is mainly a reaction. Accordingly, it was concluded that intellectual property is a different subject in the international community (differs from country to country). Moreover, the abovesaid countries (Iran and the US) follow this rule, however, following the findings, intellectual property is totally different in these two countries. The approach adopted by the US toward this issue is instrumentalist, which is mainly traditional and deontological in Iran.
Keywords
Main Subjects
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