Protecting Handicrafts in Iran's Intellectual Property Rights System; Subject To the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the World Trade Organization, TRIPS

The present article examines the Iranian intellectual property rights system regarding handicrafts; emphasizes the provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (WTO). Handicrafts as a subject that can be supported by the intellectual property rights system has not received much attention so far. On the other hand, this type of artwork has become increasingly important both globally and commercially. The main question raised in this study is what is the approach of the Iranian intellectual property rights system and the TRIPS agreement to handicrafts? And how can it effectively support these works?
The findings of the article indicate that handicrafts are examples of visual arts and there is no uniform approach to them in the Iranian legal system and the TRIPS Agreement and other international documents. In Iranian law, it can be protected in copyright or industrial design systems, geographical indications and trademarks. The TRIPS Agreement addresses the commercial aspects of intellectual property rights in general and in particular, and refers to the Berne Convention on literary and artistic rights.