Iran May Soon Modify Its Copyright Law

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Iran’s Minister of Communications and Technology has recently stated that the copyright law in the country should be revised. A new bill on copyright will soon be presented to the Iranian parliament according to Iran’s ICT Minister.

The absence of copyright laws in Iran has become a major issue for Iranian software developers in the recent years. Although the country has a local copyright law —which many believe is outdated and needs to be reformed— Iranianapp makers are still facing issues with the black market and copycats.

According to Mohammad Javad Azaari Jahromi, Iran’s newly appointed ICT Minister, the country’s copyright and intellectual property laws are outdated and need to be revised. These laws date back to almost 50 years ago with some changes made throughout the years. “This law doesn’t cover the current needs to support the businesses,” said Azari Jahromi when talking about the copyright issues in Iran. “We have set up a bill which after passing the process, will be presented to the Parliament,” he added. Jahromi mentioned that the work on the new copyright law has begunand the Ministry of Communications is working closely with the Research Center of the Parliament and the relevant organizations.

Copyright infringements have become a major issue for Iranian companies targeting the international market. “Unless the copyright issue is not resolved, we won’t be able to reach the necessary and desirable growth,” Jahromistated. Iran’s ICT Minister added that Iran was not a producer of content and software before, but today this has changed.