copyright
Does copyright law apply if I download films in Iran?
<p>I live at Iran. I would like to know if downloading films, like Hollywood films, via internet is illegal, if I don't pay money to the owner?</p>
<p>I'm asking because I read <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb7k8j/its-illegal-to-pirate-films-in-iran-unless-youre-the-government" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Iran's copyright law does not protect authors outside of Iran either.
While Iran is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organisation
(WIPO), a specialized United Nations agency tasked with promoting the
protection of global intellectual property, it has never signed the
WIPO copyright treaty, nor any other international copyright
agreements that would make infringing copyrights of foreigners
unlawful.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If downloading is legal under Iranian law, is it illegal under international law, or perhaps under spiritual or religious law?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>

<h2>Iran is <strong>not</strong> a member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Berne Convention</a> on copyright</h2>
<p>As such, it does not respect other countries' copyrights, and vice-versa.</p>
<p>Notwithstanding, domestic Iranian <a href="https://wayback.archive-it.org/10611/20161115114752/http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/30380/11424169773ir_copyright_1970_en.pdf/ir_copyright_1970_en.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">law</a> protects “authors” and appears to make no distinction between international and domestic authors. As such, it would appear to be illegal.</p>
