The Necessity of

Iran, as a country with a brilliant historical background and ethnic, cultural and biological diversity, has a treasure trove of various manifestations of popular culture that should be protected by law. Both in domestic law and in international affairs, there have been many debates on the ability of various branches of intellectual property rights (literary, artistic and industrial property rights) to support the effects of popular culture. Thinking in mentioned discussions and stabilizing on intellectual property rights shortcomings in support of popular culture manifestations reveals the necessary to design special supportive system. The ability of each instance of intellectual property rights to support popular culture manifestations has been investigated. (In particular, the World Intellectual Property Organization has worked hard to adapt these manifestations to various instances of intellectual property, such as copyright, plant protection, industrial designs, trademarks, and other cases). But no one has fully and effectively supported all the examples of the popular culture. The impossibility of full and effective support of all the manifestations of popular culture in the form of intellectual property rights is due to their specific features. Their wide-spread, diversity and heterogeneity of the examples are the first feature of these manifestations; popular culture encompasses a wide range of scientific, visual, audible, literary, and similar effects. One of the most important features of this group is its membership and belonging to the people of a country or region; these attributes do not belong to a particular person, they are belonging to a group of people who share historical, ethnic, cultural, and the like. While intellectual property rights work in the sole interest of the creator, except in exceptional cases (geographical origin signs and collective marks). In addition, what is important in protecting the effects of popular culture is the negative and privative side of this support. Preventing the confiscation of foreigners and non-natives, unconventional use, distorting the examples and the like are among the issues that should be anticipated in the supportive system. While intellectual property rights, along with the prohibition of others from violating the exclusive rights of the rightful owner, also determine the affectionate and positive material rights of the rightful owner. Such rights are not primarily relevant to the effects of public culture. Besides, regarding the popular culture manifestations, the determination of the persons who have right to the subject is a very difficult task which does not seem to be possible to be resolved through the system of intellectual property rights. The supportive system should include a way to determine the right holders and the fair sharing method of values and benefits between them. Aside from the mentioned issue, intellectual property protection is, in principle, temporary and in many cases requires registration, cost and administrative formalities, things that are not compatible with the spirit and supporting purpose of the popular culture manifestations. According to the above issues, the design of a coherent legal system on the popular culture manifestations that in addition to the protection of intellectual property rights, preserves these manifestations and helps to use, promote and introduce them to today's world seems essential, what that can be done in the form of a specific and comprehensive law. This seems a debt of the legal system to popular culture-as a common heritage of society.