Protecting the Textile Carpet Industry by Intellectual Property Rights

Abstract

This dissertation examines the role of intellectual property law in the textile carpet industry and the aids that each rubric of this discipline provides for the protection of intellectual properties in this industry. A carpet has different components and each of these components requires different protections according to its characteristics. Therefore, in order to provide a better understanding, these components are divided into three categories, namely: (1) reputation of origin (2) external appearance and

(3) know-how. Apart from analysing international intellectual property provisions applicable to this industry, current research, by using related lawsuits within the United States and the United Kingdom, determines that copyright is the dominant means for protecting designs in the carpet industry. In contrast, the Iranian legal system applies industrial design rights to protect this feature of carpets. Besides, despite the importance of geographical indications and traditional cultural expressions in the carpet industry, there are not enough and effective ii

legal provisions at the national and international levels for comprehensive protection for appellation of origin and traditional cultural expressions in the carpet industry. Therefore, it is necessary to use alternative measures such as concluding multilateral or bilateral IP agreements as well as alternative rubrics of intellectual property law to preserve the latter features.