Basics of separating idea from expression

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor, Law and Islamic Jurisprudence Department, Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought, Tehran, Iran- Associate member of Faculty of law, College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Qom, Iran.

2 MA. in Intellectual Property Law, Private Law Department, Faculty of Law, College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Qom, Iran.

Abstract

The use of the words "Expression", "Display" and "Creation" under the definition of "Work" in Article 1 of the Law on Protection of the Rights of Authors, Writers and Artists (1348) indicates a lack of protection for the ideas of works. As a result, the first condition of protection is that the idea must be externalized. The legal term representing this distinction between idea and expression of works is Idea-Expression Dichotomy. The Idea-Expression Dichotomy is the first and the most fundamental axiom of literary and artistic property law, which has been accepted as a fixed principle in all systems of protection of literary and artistic works. According to this principle the mere idea is not a subject of monopoly, and that protection is given only to the original and creative expression of that idea. Ideas are the building blocks of creativity and free public access to them should not be restricted by monopolizing them. However, separating idea from expression in practice has always been one of the biggest challenges for judges and experts in recognizing what is protected. The present article seeks to provide diagnostic guidelines for the courts and facilitate the judicial process of literary and artistic works infringement cases by using a descriptive-analytical method in examining judicial decisions and a comparative study of doctrines governing the recognition of ideas and expressions.

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