A comparative study of the concept and function of intellectual property in Iranian and the US law؛ Preparation for change

What is intellectual property and what is its function? An Effort to find an appropriate answer to this question form the basis of the present study. In the two legal systems of the US and Iran, the concept and function of intellectual property is different; In the US intellectual property right system, this property is considered, at least in the post-granting stage, to be a response to social changes, and there is an instrumentalist view of that property. In contrast, in the Iranian legal system, both at the stage of granting the right and after it, there is a traditional view to this property and it basically follows the general rules of property. The legislature and the judiciary force, do not consider social changes in legislation and enforcement, while it seems that there is no obstacle to this in Iranian law, both jurisprudentially and legally. The completely traditional and naturalistic view of this property in the Iranian legal system, is not compatible with the special nature of such property. In this article, in an analytical-descriptive way, it has been proven that in Iranian law, the way of looking at the concept and function of intellectual property can be changed by relying on some jurisprudential and legal principles and rules, such as the rule of preserving the system and the free region.