A Comparative Study on the Determination of Authorship and Original Ownership in Cinematic Works from the Perspective of Literary and Artistic Property Rights System

One of the most challenging issues regarding cinematic works, from the past until now, is how the authors or creators of these works are determined and chosen within the legal framework of intellectual property, especially considering multiple people involving in the process of their production such as producers, directors, screenwriters, and composers. Moreover, another debated topic among countries in this field is the issue of the original owner of the cinematic works, which is particularly significant due to the high cost of their production and the need for financial investment by parties other than the creators themselves, namely producers.
Thus, using an analytical-descriptive-comparative method, I first examine the creator of cinematic works in terms of general characteristics of authorship in different legal systems, international documents, and Iranian laws relating to copyright. Second, taking into account the nature of cinematic work, I will determine the original owner of these works by using a comparative and foundational approach.
The results of this research indicate that the original ownership in legal systems based on copyright law differs from the other legal systems following the rights of production; regardless of the nature of such works, the criteria, examples and approach used to determine the authorship are also very diverse in countries. In addition, despite the silence of the current Iran's copyright law of 1348 on the two mentioned issues, the Iranian legislator's draft law of 1393 has adopted a precise approach to cinematic works, following the French copyright system. Although this approach has some advantages, it can be criticized and does not align with the structure and frameworks of the current film industry in Iran.