Analysis of Criteria for Originality of Architectural Works in Intellectual Property Law

Architectural works have been protected as one of the most important fields of art in international documents (such as Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Berne Convention) and the law of different countries (such as Article 7, paragraph 2 of the Law on the Protection of Authors, Writers and Artists of Iran). In practice, it faces several serious challenges such as analyzing the concept of the building, separating the original work (plan) from the building, and analyzing the element of originality. In the present article, we have attempted to analyze the element of originality as one of the pillars of a work that can be supported in the field of architecture. The most important criteria of originality in architectural works can be called non-functional criterion, dissection criterion and absolute criterion. However, due to the lack of any of these criteria, there are also sub-criteria that can help the judge in this respect. The analysis of each of these main and sub-criteria ultimately leads us to the conclusion that there is no superior or absolute criterion.