Iran–United States copyright relations

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According to Circular 38a of the U.S. Copyright Office, Iran has no official copyright relations whatsoever with the United States.

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Published works originating in Iran thus are not copyrighted in the United States, regardless of the local copyright laws of these countries. See 17 U.S.C. § 104(b)(2), quoted in the Circular. Unpublished works, however, are copyrighted regardless of their origin or of the nationality of the works' authors, as long as they remain unpublished. See 17 U.S.C. § 104(a).

Freely distributed software

Examples of popular items reproduced in Iran. The Microsoft Windows CD has a price tag equivalent to about $US2.50. Pirated Iran.JPG
Examples of popular items reproduced in Iran. The Microsoft Windows CD has a price tag equivalent to about $US2.50.

Microsoft products can be copied and distributed freely in Iran, whether by government offices, universities, or personal users. [1] [2] [3] There are shopping centers in Tehran and other cities in Iran that specialize in the distribution of often highly specialized software.

Recently, there has been a surge in Iranian "Warez" and "Crackz" websites, as the Iranian laws do not forbid hosting them in Iran. Hence, unlike most other countries where hosting these websites might potentially lead to prosecution, it is very efficient to do so in Iran. [4]

Use of unlicensed content in the media

Offset prints of popular college textbooks in Iran. The Springer textbook on Quantum Mechanics seen here is printed by "Jahad Daneshgahi", a government-affiliated organization. Pirated Iran2.JPG
Offset prints of popular college textbooks in Iran. The Springer textbook on Quantum Mechanics seen here is printed by "Jahad Daneshgahi", a government-affiliated organization.

It is not uncommon nowadays for IRIB, Iran's state run television broadcasting organization, to air edited and censored versions of Hollywood blockbusters dubbed in Persian. [5] Some theaters however, such as Cinema Farhang in Tehran, screen the movies in the original language. None are screened with permission, as there are no relations between Iran and any US companies.[ citation needed ]

In Iran, often the unlicensed DVD of a Hollywood film hits stores across Iran sooner than the movie is released in theaters in the US. Most newly released movies however, are in-theater-handycam versions. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of unlicensed DVD-quality reproductions.

Academia, for example, relies almost entirely on translations of textbooks without licensing by foreign publishers. If in English, the books are offset prints that enable students to purchase textbooks at subsidized prices. However, the differences between the original and unauthorized copies of textbooks is the replacement of image inside the textbook in order to comply with Iranian culture instead of western-styled culture while retaining most of the original contents inside the textbook. Furthermore, these textbooks are often exported for sale at cheaper prices in other countries, which do maintain copyright relations with the United States. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warez</span> Movies, software or music distributed in violation of copyright

Warez is a common computing and broader cultural term referring to pirated software that is distributed via the Internet. Warez is used most commonly as a noun, a plural form of ware, and is intended to be pronounced like the word wares. The circumvention of copy protection (cracking) is an essential step in generating warez, and based on this common mechanism, the software-focused definition has been extended to include other copyright-protected materials, including movies and games. The global array of warez groups has been referred to as "The Scene", deriving from its earlier description as "the warez scene". Distribution and trade of copyrighted works without payment of fees or royalties generally violates national and international copyright laws and agreements. The term warez covers supported as well as unsupported (abandonware) items, and legal prohibitions governing creation and distribution of warez cover both profit-driven and "enthusiast" generators and distributors of such items.

Operation Buccaneer is an "ongoing international copyright piracy investigation and prosecution" undertaken by the United States federal government. It was part of a crackdown divided into three parts: Operation Bandwidth, Operation Buccaneer and Digital Piratez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting</span> Iranian state-owned media company

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation that holds a monopoly of domestic radio and television services in Iran. It is also among the largest media organizations in Asia and the Pacific region and a regular member of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. IRIB is independent of the Iranian government, but its head is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A telesync (TS) is a bootleg recording of a film recorded in a movie theater, often filmed using a professional camera on a tripod in the projection booth. The audio of a TS is captured with a direct connection to the sound source. If a direct connection from the sound source is not possible, sometimes the bootlegger will tape or conceal wireless microphones close to the speakers, as it is better than a mic on the camera. A TS can be considered a higher quality type of cam, that has the potential of better-quality audio and video.

Hew Raymond Griffiths has been accused by the United States of being a ring leader of DrinkOrDie or DOD, an underground software infringement network, using the online identity of "Bandido". Griffiths was living in Berkeley Vale in the Central Coast Region of NSW, Australia before he was placed on remand at Silverwater Correctional Centre. After fighting extradition for almost 3 years, Griffiths was finally extradited from Australia to the United States and on 20 February 2007, he appeared before Magistrate Judge Barry R. Portez of the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. On 20 April, it was announced by the U.S. Department of Justice that Griffiths had entered a plea of guilty.

A cam is a bootleg recording of a film. Generally unlike the more common DVD rip or screener recording methods which involve the duplication of officially distributed media, cam versions are original clandestine recordings made in movie theaters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germany–Iran relations</span> Bilateral relations

German–Iranian relations refer to bilateral relations between Germany and Iran. Official diplomatic relations between Iran and Germany after World War I began in 1939, when Iran opened its first diplomatic mission office in Bonn, both countries′ predecessor states had maintained formal diplomatic relations since the end of 19th century. Germany has an embassy in Tehran, which was originally established in the court of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar in October 1884 and has been in the present building since 1894. Iran opened its embassy in Berlin in 1885. Germany and Iran continued to have political relations well into World War II which severely impacted ethnic minorities like Iranians of Jewish descent negatively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan–Iran relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between Afghanistan and Iran were established in 1935 during King Zahir Shah's reign and the Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi, though ties between the two countries have existed for millennia. As a result, many Afghans speak Persian, as Dari is one of the official languages of Afghanistan, and many in Afghanistan also celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

Operation Site Down is the umbrella name for a law enforcement initiative conducted by the United States' FBI and law enforcement agents from ten other countries which resulted in a raid on targets on June 29, 2005. Three separate undercover investigations were involved, based in Chicago, Charlotte and San Jose. The raid consisted of approximately 70 searches in the U.S. and approximately 20 others in ten other countries in an effort to disrupt and dismantle many of the leading Warez groups which distribute and trade in copyrighted software, movies, music and games on the Internet.

Since 2008 copyright in Afghanistan has been governed by the law on the support the right of authors, composers, artists and researchers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DrinkOrDie</span>

DrinkOrDie (DoD) was one of the most prestigious underground software piracy group and warez trading network during the 1990s. On 11 December 2001 a major law enforcement raid - known as Operation Buccaneer - forced it to close under criminal charges of infringement. DoD, as a rule, received no financial profit for their activities. The DoD network - which primarily consisted of university undergraduates - was also supported by software company employees, who leaked copies of software and other digital media. DoD was also actively involved in illicit file-trading with other networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright infringement</span> Usage of a copyrighted work without the authors permission

Copyright infringement is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works. The copyright holder is typically the work's creator, or a publisher or other business to whom copyright has been assigned. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement.

Iran is a member of the WIPO since 2001 and has acceded to several WIPO intellectual property treaties. Iran joined the Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1959. In December 2003 Iran became a party to the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks. In 2005 Iran joined the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, which ensures the protection of geographical names associated with products. As at February 2008 Iran had yet to accede to The Hague Agreement for the Protection of Industrial Designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public domain in the United States</span> Status of public domain in the USA

Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran and the World Trade Organization</span>

Iran officially submitted an application to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 19 July 1996. From July 1996 to May 2001, Iran’s application had not been considered, mainly as a result of US objections and the US veto power in the WTO Council. From May 2001 Iran’s application for WTO membership has been brought up 22 times. At the 22nd time, on 26 May 2005, Iran’s application for WTO membership was approved unanimously by the organization’s members. Thus the process of Iran’s membership in the WTO started. Once Iran’s application was accepted and examined by WTO General Council, Iran became WTO observer member and started the process of full membership in the organization. In November 2009 Iran submitted the Foreign Trade Regime Memorandum as the process of accession entered a new phase.

Video game piracy is the unauthorized copying and distributing of video game software, and is a form of copyright infringement. It is often cited as a major problem that video game publishers face when distributing their products, due to the ease of being able to distribute games for free, via torrenting or websites offering direct download links. Right holders generally attempt to counter piracy of their products by enforcing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, though this has never been totally successful. Digital distribution of pirated games has historically occurred on bulletin board systems (BBS), and more recently via decentralized peer-to-peer torrenting. In terms of physical distribution, Taiwan, China and Malaysia are known for major manufacturing and distribution centers for pirated game copies, while Hong Kong and Singapore are major importers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–Yemen relations</span> Bilateral relations

Iran and Yemen have had cordial, if tepid, relations since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Ties between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in Aden, however, have been damaged in recent years by Iran's support for the rival Yemeni government in Sanaa linked to the Houthi movement. Since 2019, Iran recognized the Supreme Political Council as the sole legitimate government of Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–Mexico relations</span> Bilateral relations

Iran–Mexico relations are the bilateral ties between the United Mexican States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Both nations are members of the Group of 15, Group of 24, and the United Nations.

References

  1. Coffey, Andrew (21 September 2004). "Security fears spark Linux drive in Iran - Breaking - theage.com.au". www.theage.com.au. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  2. "Security fears spark Linux drive in Iran". www.iranfocus.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  3. "Internet Piracy Software Piracy - Copyright - Laws.com". copyright.laws.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  4. "Iranian Government Runs Public Warez Server - TorrentFreak". 24 August 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  5. Example Link from IRIB-1's program schedule: Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp: "Cinema1". Archived from the original on 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2006-12-14.. Click on "Next Program" and "Previous program" to see more movie listings on IRIB-1.
  6. "Iran Exporting Pirated English Language Books to Georgia". FinChannel. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2014.