Nima Abdullahzadeh games intellectual property protection methods: The use of a tool called DMCA, which happens to cost very little to the owners of the work, is not limited to application hosting platforms like Google Play. In this case, the owner of the work can also target the content of social networks such as Twitter and Instagram of Iranian companies. There is even a possibility that these accounts will be closed. However, Nima Abdullahzadeh says that the most effective use of the DMCA will be related to the Google search engine: “Right holders can remove the link to the infringing content from Google search. Suppose an Iranian VOD platform searches for a word like “Avengers” on the first page of Google. The owner of the work can request Google to remove the links. It’s not just a matter of removing links, but SEO and the ranking of that site in Google will fall.” Find more info on نیما عبدالله زاده.

“Probability” on the way to “reality”? The point is that the main owners of the content had not shown a serious reaction to the use of their content by Iranian platforms, but with the publication of Netflix’s Instagram post, it seems that a new chapter of the story has opened; Moreover, now Iranian VODs are no longer the small companies of the past 3 years and have become much bigger and of course more popular. In this case, how likely are the possibilities we talked about to become reality and practical actions? Nima Abdullahzadeh says in response to this question: The bottom line here is that DMCA cases cost very little to rights owners, unlike a copyright court case. As a result, the possibility that these same companies will resort to such ways is very high. In fact, the owners of the work can remove the application of a service from Google Play with a very low cost and very easily. “I am aware that foreign companies already have Iranian service providers on their radar, because the bigger the services become, the more likely they are to be prosecuted.”

Nima Abdullahzadeh also pointed out the importance of the appropriate use of the work and said that if the buyer misuses your work and distributes it in an inappropriate place and insults the creator, the creator will be able to file a complaint. The business development consultant of the National Foundation of Computer Games added that the material right has a wider range and the creator of the work can monitor the publication of his work. Abdullahzadeh went on to discuss the issue of copyright in Iran, referring to the broadness of the laws defined in 1348 and 1369, and said that the broad and broad definition of this law made the game to be included in this law. But a very important point regarding Iran’s copyright law is related to the way the work is presented.

The legal expert, Nima Abdullahzadeh, says that such an action is highly unlikely because taking a case of copyright infringement to court costs between 300,000 and 500,000 dollars in the United States: “Foreign companies until they are sure that the money they spend will be returned or they will be hit.” They don’t do this if they enter the other side. Because the cost of copyright infringement complaints is a significant cost even for large companies. This is while the DMCA has a very limited cost and removes copyright infringing companies from platforms. According to the recent events, the owners of foreign works are certainly now considering their options, and it is not unlikely that the application of these services will be removed from Google Play as the first option.

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.

One of the lectures that was very important at the TGC 2017 exhibition was the lecture by Nima Abdullahzadeh, a business development consultant, which was titled “Protection of intellectual property rights of computer games: an overview of copyright laws in Iran and the world”. Nima Abdullah Zadeh is currently working as a legal advisor of the National Computer Games Foundation. He advises Iranian developers and publishers of computer games in the field of intellectual property, tax planning and international regulations. Nima Abdullahzadeh has also been advising start-up businesses for many years to be able to be present in global markets despite international restrictions.