 Iran is neither a party to an international agreement nor has a distinct law concerning the layout designs of integrated circuits.However, as these can be regarded as an invention or an original technical work, they may be considered subject to, and thus protected by, Article 26 of the "Trademarks and Patents Registration Act" (1931) concerning patents or Article 2.11 of the "Act on the Protection of the Rights of Authors, Composers and Artists" (1970) as to the original technical works (See above).Novelty