In search of a balance between international law and national particularities: integrating copyright in Iran and India

IN SEARCH OF A BALANCE BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND NATIONAL PARTICULARITIES: INTEGRATING COPYRIGHT LAW IN IRAN AND INDIA

Doctor of Private Law, Consultant to the World Intellectual Property Organization

The Washington Declaration, signed at the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest,1 states in its principles that “intellectual property policy making should be conducted through mechanisms of transparency and openness that encourage broad public participation. New rules should be made within the existing forums responsible for intellectual property policy, where both developed and developing countries have full representation, and where the texts of and forums for considering proposals are open. All new international intellectual property standards must be subject to democratic checks and balances”. The Declaration also stresses that intellectual property systems are designed to serve human values and must be tailored to that end, while accepting that limitations are essential to ensure that intellectual property law fulfils its purpose of promoting the public interest. From an analysis of international positive law in the field of copyright, it can be noted however that these principles