Analyzing the national and international conflict resolution rules in determination of applicable law in copyright

AbstractThe conflict resolution rules pertaining to determination of applicable law on the subjects of intellectual property law including copyright are seriously challenged by the advent of Internet. This is because of much increase in the possibility of misuse from copyrighted works and also infringement of the creator’s rights around the world due to the spread of Internet use. The specific nature of intellectual property and the domination of the principle of territoriality as well as the diversity of these rights and lack of internationally accepted conflict resolution rules specific to intellectual property law lead to numerous different problems for the courts in each of the different countries of the world. Hence, in order to achieve the most effective rules of conflict resolutions in this field and particularly in relation to solving the problems caused by Internet, existing laws and regulations were studied using documentary method. The findings of this research indicate that the closest connection rule which is raised and supported by modern academic approaches such as the system designed by American Law Institute can be useful and effective in confronting the challenges and limitations of intellectual property law both in theoretical and practical aspects.