Book Publishing in Iran: Laws and Regulations

The Legal System
Concerning
Book Publishing in Iran
A Descriptive and Analytical Study
Ashraf Rahmani
1
The book is available on Amazon stores, both as paperback and
kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/Legal-System-Concerning-Book-
Publishing/dp/0995994420

2
Why Studying the Regulations
on Book Publishing?
There are few studies that explain how the government
of Iran administers book publishing from one or
different aspects.
There are few studies that specifically gather or
describe laws and regulations concerning book
publishing.
The set of laws, bylaws and other regulations on book
publishing is potentially an abundant and reliable
source of information to discover the system of book
publishing in Iran in terms of the goals, policies,
strategies, etc. that the IRI employs to administer
different aspects of the system.

What is the Subject of the Study?
The study describes and analyzes the laws and
regulations on book publishing in Iran approved
by either the legislative or executive branches.
The descriptive part includes the 49 current
and repealed regulations related to book
publishing approved during the years 1979-
2013.
The analytical part includes 37 current laws,
bylaws, and resolutions (678 articles and notes).
3

4
Descriptive aspects:
It presents the set of laws and regulations on book
publishing ratified by Iranian legislatures or
organizations.
It describes the major issues discussed in them.
It shows how they are related to each other.
Analytical aspects:
It breaks the contents of regulations into smaller parts
(themes/topics discussed in articles or notes) and
categorizes the data based on the discovered themes.
By categorizing the data, the legal system and the
structure of the system administering book publishing
are discovered.
The research also presents the development of the
system over time.

What are the laws, bylaws, and resolutions in the realm of book
publishing in Iran? What topics are discussed in them? How are
they related?
What policies and strategies the IRI employs to supervise
different activities in the realm of book publishing?
What are the titles, organizations, boards, etc. that manage
different affairs in book publishing? How are they appointed?
what are their assigned responsibilities?
What are the procedures for handling major administrative
affairs related to book publishing?
Regarding freedom of expression, what restrictions have been
defined in the realm of books in the regulations? How are the
restrictions applied or how does the system of scrutinizing books
work?
How have the different aspects of supervision of book publishing
been developed over time?
What are the Major Questions
this Study Seeks to Answer?
5

What are the Steps of
Description and Analysis?
Collecting the laws, bylaws and resolutions;
Explaining the contents of the regulations and showing their
relations to each other;
Coding the regulations and attributing the themes/topics
discussed in their articles and notes (678) (Slides 7 & 9);
Defining and naming the themes;
Identifying sub-themes to discover the structure of the system;
for example, the theme
Procedures
Applying for a publishing License
Applying for book permits
Establishing a print house
6

13 3 2 014 03
Regulation NoteArticleSectionChapter
Step One: Code Assignment
290000100 290000602
290000200 290000603
290000300 290000700
290000400 290000800
290000401 290000900
290000402 290000901
290000403 290000902
290000404 290001000
290000405 290001100
290000406 290001200
290000407 290001300
290000500 290001400
290000501 290001500
290000600 290001600
290000601
29=RevisedResolutionoftheGoals,Policies,and
RegulationsofBookPublishing
7

Steps 2, 3 and 4:
Themes Attribution, Defining and Naming
After codifying the laws, the process of identifying the themes
of the smallest units, i.e. articles and notes, started.
The approach is inductive where the process of theme
identification occurs without trying to fit the data into a pre-
assumed set of themes or a pre-existing framework.
The attributed themes were revised continuously in relation
to each other and to the data many times while reading and
rereading the regulations.
The definitions of the themes were edited and reedited
throughout the readings and re-readings of the data (slides 10
& 11).
The last step of the process was giving clear name for each
theme.
8

Step Three:
Defining and Naming the Themes
Code Ap As El Gr Ob Pen Per Ph Po Pr Rep Req
011000100 1
170000100 1
180000400 1 1
251100100 1 1
260002000 1 1
260002000 1 1
320000300 1 1 1
9

1. Appointment (Ap)
Appointing councils, boards, committees, etc.
2. Assignment (As)
Assigning duties to governmental departments and
organizations
3. Elucidation (El)
Defining or clarifying a term, a topic, etc. used in the
regulation
4. Grants (Gr)
Specifying funds, financial aids, subsidies, privileges, etc.
5. Obligation (Ob)
Defining an obligation or responsibility to non-governmental
legal or natural persons or institutes
6. Penalty (Pen)
Defining a punishment imposed if a prohibited action is
observed or an obligation is not observed
10
Themes and Their Definitions

7. Permission (Per)
Permitting governmental/non-governmental organizations,
natural or legal persons to do an action
8. Policies (Po)
Policies, principles, priorities, goals, etc. to set long-term plans
9. Procedures (Pr)
The procedures or steps of an action
10. Prohibition (Ph)
Prohibiting natural or legal persons from doing an action
11. Repeal (Rep)
Repealing former regulation/s
12. Requirements (Req)
Specifying qualifications or conditions that persons, institutes,
etc. must have to perform some activities
11
Themes and Their Definitions

Findings:
The System Administering Book Publishing
The Values, Principles, Goals, and Policies
Values and Principles
Divine legitimacy of the Islamic regime
Priority to retaining the Islamic regime
Legitimate [mašrū’] freedom of expression: No harm to the
principles of Islam; No harm to the rights of the public
Protection of religious and national identity and confronting
cultural invasion
Goals
Promoting Islamic and national culture in society through
developing knowledge and consolidating the Islamic, Iranian,
and revolutionary values.
Effective confrontation with cultural invasion against Islamic,
national and revolutionary values;
Policies
Supporting the positive aspects of book publication
Tackling the negative aspects of book publication 12

The Authorities and Duties of
The Supreme Leader
The Parliament
The SCCR
The President
The Council of Ministers
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance
The Boards and Committees and their Duties
The boards and committees issuing a publishing license
The board administering cultural centers affairs
The Boards and committees examining books and issuing
print and distribution permits
The boards investigating on publishers’ violations
The board selecting books for purchasing
13
Findings:

The Required Qualifications for
Establishing a print house and dependent units
Establishing a publishing center
Copyrighting a book
The Procedures for
Issuing a publishing license
Issuing book permits
Establishing a print house
The Banned People or Activities
Persons banned from establishing print houses
Persons banned from establishing publishing centers
Banned Themes / Subjects
Religion and Morality
Politics and society
Public Rights and Culture
14
Findings:

The Supports
Publishers Exemption from Paying Taxes
Establishing a Credit Fund to support authors
The subsidization system to support book purchase
The Penalties For
Publishing books without permits
Manipulation in the content or cover of a book after
obtaining its print permit
Print houses’ and dependent units’ violations
Copyright infringements
15
Findings:

Findings: Summary
The strategies (supporting, tackling,
encouraging) that the IRI employs to
supervise authors’ and publishers’ activities;
The governmental organizations, boards,
councils, and committees that are in charge
and their authorities and duties in managing
various aspects of book publishing;
Establishing, monitoring the activities, dealing
with violations, and closing publishing
centers, print houses and dependent units;
16

The restrictions on freedom of expression in the
realm of books and the structure of the system
examining contents of books;
Authors’, translators’, and publishers’ rights and
obligations.
The development of the system of book
publishing’s supervision and the legal system
over time.
17
Findings: Summary

It is possible that few laws and regulations have been
missed in the executive level (bylaws). However, this will
not have significant impact on the data analysis and the
results of the study.
The themes are not final and can be subjective based
on my knowledge and experience. Other researchers
may use other themes, combine, divide these themes, or
add other themes to it.
Note: the method has introduced both qualitative and
quantitative analysis for the data, but the quantitative
analysis part has not been developed because the goal
of the research necessitated the focus on the qualitative
analysis.
18
What are the Major Weaknesses of the Study?

The method for analyzing the data is objective in order to observe
the data and discover the themes discussed in it without trying to fit
the data into a pre-assumed set of themes or a pre-existing
framework.
The method enabled us to do a research on an important subject
in a country where it is not easy to have access to the information on
the subject.
The method can be applied for studying any other set of laws.
The results are consistent with the aim of research: categorization
of the subjects discussed in the laws to discover the structure of the
system supervising book publishing in Iran.
The research fills a significant gap existed in this field: the legal
system concerning book publishing in Iran and also the structure of
the system managing different aspects of book publishing.
19
What are the Major Strengths of the Study?

The method can be applied for studying any
set of laws (the press, education, etc,) to
categorize the contents and discover the
structure of the system.
The findings can be used as a source for
sociological or political analyses.
Researchers can have a comparative study
between the results of this research and other
related studies.
The quantitative findings can be developed
and utilized in future studies. 20
Further Studies

The Development of Policies
Policy Approval Date Regulation
Limits of Freedom of
Expression
31.03.1979 The Constitution
Supporting and Tackling
Policies in Book Publishing
10.05.1988
Revised on 13.04. 2010
Goals, Policies,
and Regulations of
Book Publishing
Cultural Policy of the
Country
11.08.1992
Principles of
Cultural Policy of
the Country
Policies to Stand Against
Cultural Invasion
14.03.2000
Bylaw on Policies
to Confront
Cultural Invasion
Fundamental Values of the
Country
16.12.2003 Cultural Indicators
Cultural Indicators 16.12.2003 Cultural Indicators
21

The System of Scrutinizing Books
Evaluate the content
of the books and deal
with Publishers
objections
Selected by the
Board and approved
by Council of Public
Culture.
At least 5 experts
selected by the
MCIG and approved
by the SCCR
Supervisory
Board
Specialized
Work
Groups
Committees
First
Committee
Second
Committee
Third
Committee
The Supervisory Board, Work Groups and Committees members are
appointed by the SCCR and are not a subset of an executive
management in the MCIG. 22

Procedures for Issuing a Publishing License
23
1012 General directorate of Culture and Islamic Guidance in provinces
1013 In Police +10 and health centers
1014 The Expert in the MCIG
1015 The Board of Reviewing and Issuing a Publishing License

Procedures for Issuing a Book Permit
24

The Distribution of Themes in Regulations
0
50
100
150
200
250
Ap As El Gr Ob Pen Per Ph Po Pr Rep Req
Frequency
Themes
25
The Themes and Their Occurrences
Themes Ap As El Gr Ob Pen Per Ph Po Pr Rep Req
Frequency 27 139 66 13 52 28 23 15 220 89 7 91

The Distribution of Themes in Regulations
Ap
3%
As
18%
El
8%
Gr
2%
Ob
7%
Pen
4%Per
3%
Ph
2%
Po
29%
Pr
11%
Rep
1%
Req
12%
Policies: 220 arts & notes
Assignment: 139
Requirement: 98
26

Procedure
Approval
Date
Law/Resolution Title
Copyright registration 1971
Executive Bylaw on Article 21 of
the law of 1970
Establishing a print house 1980
Bylaw on Establishing a Print
House and Gravure Making
Issuing a publishing license 1980 Law on the Guild System
Issuing a publishing license 1988
General Regulations on
Establishing Cultural Centers …
Examining content of books
before printing
1988 Goals, Policies, and …
ISBN membership 1997
Requiring Publishers to Publish
Books with a CIP and
27
The Development of Procedures over Time

Procedure
Approval
Date
Issuing a CIP 1997
Books with …
Issuing a permanent book
print permit
1999
Bylaw on Issuing a Permanent
Book Print Permit
Stages and dimensions of
cultural invasion
2000
Bylaw on Policies to Confront
Cultural Invasion
Establishing a publishing
center by foreign residents
2001
Executive Bylaw on Establishing
Cultural and …
Proceeding against
publishers’ violations
2005
Bylaw on Proceeding Against
Publishers Infringements
Method of selecting books for
purchase
2006 Bylaw on Encouraging and
Examining the content of
books before printing
2010
Revised Resolution of the
Goals … 28
The Development of Procedures over Time

Procedure
Approval
Date
Issuing a CIP 1997
Books with …
Issuing a permanent book
print permit
1999
Bylaw on Issuing a Permanent
Book Print Permit
Stages and dimensions of
cultural invasion
2000
Bylaw on Policies to Confront
Cultural Invasion
Establishing a publishing
center by foreign residents
2001
Executive Bylaw on Establishing
Cultural and …
Proceeding against publishers’
violations
2005
Bylaw on Proceeding Against
Publishers Infringements
Method of selecting books for
purchase
2006 Bylaw on Encouraging and
Examining the content of
books before printing
2010
Revised Resolution of the
Goals …
Development of Procedures over Time
29

Iran and International Treaties on Freedom of Expression
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions, receive and
import information through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 29 limits the freedom of every individual to other people rights
and freedoms, good moral requirements, public order, and welfare.
The limitations are determined by law solely.
In 1948, the Declaration was adopted by a vote of 48 in favor,
including Iran.
UDHR is not a treaty but it was adopted to define the meaning of
“fundamental freedoms” and “human rights”. Many international
lawyers believe that the Declaration is a part customary international
law, a powerful tool in applying diplomatic and moral pressure to
governments that violate any of the articles.
30

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
ICCPR is a multi-lateral treaty adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly in 1966. Iran ratified the treaty in 1975.
Article 18: Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression;
this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and import
information and ideas of all kinds … The exercise of the rights
may subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as
provided by law and are necessary.
The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI)
In 2000, members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference
officially resolved to support CDHRI which is an alternative
document. Iran is a member of the Organization and has also
signed the Declaration.
Article 22: Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion
freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of
Sharia.
31

Iranian Constitution, laws and regulations on
book publishing, and Islamic Penal Code
(1392/2003) contain some provisions to
restrict freedom of expression and to penalize
violators in book publishing. These
restrictions and penalties are often broad.
The interpreters who are examining the
prohibited themes in books are censors who
are appointed by the Supervisory Boards
confirmed by the SCCR. The interpretations
can be broad and different from person to
person.
32

Iran and International Copyright Conventions
33
In 1380/2001 the Parliament passed a law
allowing the government to join the Convention
Establishing the WIPO. Iran became a WIPO
member in 2002. Iran’s membership in the WIPO
does not entail any obligations for Iran’s
government to follow copyright conventions.
To date, the Iranian state has not signed any
copyright conventions or other international
treaties concerning copyright and is not a member
of any international copyright conventions. To join
any copyright treaties, it requires a separate
approval from the WIPO.

34
In 1387/2008 the Parliament passed a law allowing the
state to apply for the WTO observer membership. Iran
is now a WTO observer member and started the
process of full membership in the organization
The major reason that Iran has yet to join international
copyright conventions or treaties originates in the
Supreme Leader’s directive concerning the acceptance
of bilateral commitments with other countries regarding
rights of scientific, literary, or artistic works (1994)
Iran's joining the WIPO and its interest in accession to
WTO would be conducive to accepting international
treaties such as the Berne Convention and the TRIPS
Agreement that would follow many practical
commitments for the country. (See 3.18 and 5.6.1.2)
Iran and International Copyright Conventions

Commanding What is Right
and Forbidding What is Wrong
Article 8 of the Constitution: In the IRI commanding what is
right and forbidding what is wrong is a general and
concomitant responsibility: people toward one another,
government toward people, and people toward the
government. The conditions and boundaries of this relationship
are set by the law.
Regulations on what must not be published and what is
good to be published reflect these two practices in terms of
book publishing:
Encouraging publishers to publish appropriate books by
purchasing such books (5.10.8)
Determining 28 prohibited book topics (5.6.2.3)
35

Cultural Policy
Principles of Cultural Policy of the Country
Cultural policy in Iran is a type of macro planning in the realm of culture
and exercising the policies by the government. The ultimate goal is to make
corrections or changes in social beliefs and behaviors by bringing out
people from the so-called ‘destructive western values and beliefs’ and
replace it with the Islamic culture.
Sources of cultural policy are Sharia, Khomeini's views on Islam, and
the Constitution. Major and minor principles [osūl va forū’ ] of Islam are
considered as the basis of personal and social aspects of the country.
The SCCR has not only defined the principles of cultural policy, but is
responsible for overseeing the implementation of the policy.
The resolution defines the ministries and institutions that are particularly
the administrators of cultural policy. Regarding the implementation of
cultural policy in the book publishing realm, the major role is given to the
MCIG.
Cultural centers, including publishing centers, are required to have their
cultural activities in the context of the cultural policy.
36

Cultural Interaction
versus Cultural Invasion
Bylaw on Policies to Confront Cultural Invasion
Cultural interaction is a natural phenomenon and essential for
enriching human education and cultural life.
In cultural exchange, there is a mutual transaction between two
different cultures, while in cultural invasion the communication is
one-sided, from the invader’s culture to the invaded.
After preparing the nation to accept invaded culture, the cultural
invader starts imposing their desirable culture.
Goal of cultural invasion: undermining or destroying the basic
sectors of the invaded culture, such as its beliefs, values, trends,
behaviors and substituting them with the intended ones in order to
manage the decision-making process that may lead to political and
economic dominance of the invader.
Strategies to Invade a Culture and Policies to Stand against
Cultural Invasion (p. 174, 5.7.6)
Stages and dimensions of cultural invasion: (p. 190, 5.8.12)
37

Cultural Invasion and Book Publication
The impact of oral advertisement is immediate, but written words
or publications have a lasting influence on readers. An invader
provides the intended concepts in the form of attractive stories with
beautiful photos and designs and in a large number of high quality
copies.
Cultural invaders are aware of the important role of national and
religious patterns in creating and maintaining harmony in social
behavior. Therefore, by using books as an advertising device, they
try to destroy these characters of culture and promote their desired
heroes in different levels of the invaded society. The cultural invader
utilizes books to
- Degrade people’s talents and abilities;
- Create contradictions between science and religion;
- Show that the religion is inefficient
- Enter a large number of foreign words to Persian language
After preparing the nation to accept invaded culture, the cultural
invader utilizes publications to impose their desirable culture
38

Cultural Indicators (2003)
Cultural indicators are the criteria by which the cultural
status of the society can be measured or monitored.
Fundamental cultural values of the IR and their
appropriate cultural indicators have been defined in the
three following areas: (p. 169)
- Intellectual and behavioral development;
- Consumption of cultural goods and services;
- The development of cultural facilities
The indicators are going to help the MCIG monitor the
cultural development of the society in different fields
including the book publication and provide reports to the
relevant organizations.
Indicators for Book development
39

Cultural Indicators
Indicators for Book development
Total number of title books published
Ratio of the first impression books to all titles
Ratio of non-translated books to all published books
Ratio of translated books to published books
Total amount of paper consumption in cultural activities
Ratio of circulation of religious books to total circulation of books
Ratio of religious book titles to total titles published
Ratio of copies of the Quran to total book titles and religious
books
Number of authors and translators
Number of trade/professional unions in the book publishing field
Number of bookstores
Number of active and non-active publishers
Capacity of print houses based on their sheets 40

As the Leader, in 1984 Khomeini issued the decree for
establishing the SCCR. The organization is the supreme
body of ratifying resolutions on general and specific
strategies concerning cultural, educational and
research issues (including book publishing polices).
As a marja, Khomeini issued a fatwa and announced
that copyright is an illegitimate right. This fatwa became
more influential than the two already in-force copyright
laws and made conflicts. Some judges would act based
on Khomeini’s fatwa and some others based on the
laws. This period continued for about 14 years.
As the Leader, Khamenei’s decree on joining
international copyright conventions. In 1373/1994
Khamenei announced that signing copyright contracts
with other countries is disadvantageous and imprudent.
The Role of the Supreme Leader in Book Publishing
41

Implications of the Study
42
1. Policies that have been defined and followed in the
regulations can be divided into two main types:
supportive and tackling policies.
2. Book censors are permitted to interpret the prohibited
themes stated in law (the Executive is the interpreter)
3. In terms of defining and supervising the implementation
of general and specific regulations on book publishing,
the SCCR plays the main role.
4. Although there have been conflicts among the
ideological factions who had political power in Iran from
1979 to 2013, the political parties had more or less
similar positions or ideologies on book publication
policy.

43
The Legal System Concerning Book Publishing in Iran: A
Descriptive and Analytical Study
The book is Available on Amazon stores, both as paperback and kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/Legal-System-Concerning-Book-
Publishing/dp/0995994420

Book Publishing in Iran: Laws and Regulations

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