Interaction of Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Law and the Question of Technology Transfer in the Iranian Oil Industry

Understanding of the interplay between IP rights and competition law in the context of technology transfer in the Iranian oil industry is a point that is discussed in this article. While intellectual property rights enjoy a historic record and appropriate rules in this regard, the competition rights in Iran are taking their initial steps. This imbalance stems from the root of the formation of the legal system of oil in Iran based on contractual frameworks over time. The point to be made in this article is that technology transfer can be expected to take place when the type and purpose of technology transfer have already been defined by legal organizations in relation to the relevant industries. Also, the general targeting in the upstream laws alone cannot meet the legal requirements for the transfer of appropriate technology. Therefore, when even one of the mentioned factors does not exist, one cannot expect constructive interaction in the above-mentioned legal systems.