Abstract

Intellectual property rights, as one of the main pillars of innovation, creativity, and economic competition, have gained significant importance within Iran’s criminal policy in recent years. The Iranian legislator has attempted to protect the interests of intellectual property owners by criminalizing acts such as patent infringement, misuse of trademarks and trade names, and unauthorized exploitation of intellectual property rights. This study, using a descriptive-analytical approach, examines the status of intellectual property rights within the Iranian criminal justice system and analyzes the legislative criminal policy governing related offenses. The research investigates the legal foundations of criminalizing intellectual property violations, as well as the legal, material, and mental elements of crimes related to trademark and trade name infringement and the resulting criminal liability. The findings indicate that although Iranian laws have gradually developed toward stronger criminal protection of intellectual property rights, several challenges remain, including ambiguities in certain legal provisions, weak criminal sanctions, enforcement difficulties, and insufficient adaptation to the developments of electronic commerce and international standards. Consequently, revising criminal policy and strengthening specialized enforcement mechanisms may enhance the effectiveness of criminal protection for intellectual property rights in Iran.