High quality games intellectual property protection solutions from Nima Abdullahzadeh 2023: Although the work of VODs is not illegal inside Iran, in any case, the important point here is that Iranian sites and platforms are using tools or spaces that were developed outside the borders of Iran and in countries that are members of the Berne Convention. In response to the question of what possible international risks the use of copyrighted content creates for that platform, Abdullah Zadeh says: The fastest danger that threatens them is the removal of their applications in foreign stores such as Google Play or Apple’s App Store. On the other hand, Iranian platforms use other tools and services that originate from countries that are members of the Berne Convention. Basically, most of the used platforms are American. According to the DMCA ( Digital Millennium Copyright Act), these platforms are required to remove the content when their platform is abused and the copyright owner informs them, otherwise they are also responsible. Read extra information at نیما عبدالله زاده.
But what you’ve read so far is only a small part of what can happen to copyright infringers. When the problem becomes more serious, the owner of the work may turn to infrastructure such as hosting, domain and CDN companies. Nima Abdullahzadeh explains: For example, maybe an Iranian platform is using the Cloudflare service or is using a foreign data center. Here, the type of treatment depends on the country where the company is located. For example, the policies of an American company differ from a Swiss company based on the laws of its country, but in general, there is a risk that companies providing infrastructure will block Iranian platforms because through the infrastructure, illegal work [according to the laws of the same company and country ] in processing.
Describing this issue as important, especially for foreign games, Nima Abdullahzadeh said: A work has copyright in Iran that has been published for the first time in Iran; A work published abroad and then released in Iran does not have copyright. This means that IP in Iran no longer has the above effect. Of course, this issue is not without a solution, and if the publishers publish their game in Iran at the same time, they will include copyright. As a result, Iranian publishers should be careful when entering the foreign market to offer their games simultaneously abroad and in Iran. According to the law, the works in Iran are included in the copyright law on the day of publication, the works must have been published for the first time in Iran.
Nima Abdullahzadeh says: “Purchasing content from domestic companies is not logical. For example, as an Iranian company, you obtain an exclusive license to display content. But since Iranian law basically does not support that content, you cannot prohibit your competitor’s service provider who has not paid for the content from displaying the same content. As a result, from a commercial point of view, buying content weakens the Iranian company. Because the competitor can display it without paying.”
An important issue mentioned by the foundation’s legal advisor is the presence of Iran among 29 countries that do not participate in any international copyright convention. From this example, we can refer to the Berne Convention, according to which, if a work is published in one country, it will receive copyright in all member countries of the convention. Of course, the existence of a loophole in this convention has made non-members able to use this law. If the game makers release their game in a member and non-member country at the same time and with a maximum interval of 30 days, the copyright is included in their work. The Internet can be considered as the main key to this solution, and if the game is published in a form that is also offered abroad, the game will receive intellectual property.
Interaction or encounter? Although according to Iran’s law, what Iranian VODs do is not an illegal act, but the same issue can cause problems for our country’s platforms in the international dimension. The simplest steps are using DMCA and removing applications from Google Play and App Store, limiting social network accounts and even limiting the infrastructure tools of these platforms’ websites. In the next stage, there is a complaint, which involves a lot of money, but if it happens, it can even challenge the CEO and board members of Iranian VODs – on an international scale. What happened with Netflix’s initial move is the beginning of a new chapter; A season that either ends up in interaction or ends in small and big collisions and restrictions. It remains to be seen what will be the approach of Iranian VODs to this issue, but in any case, one thing is certain: big news is coming.