The law is ready to be applied to non-financial assets."Intellectual, industrial, and commercial property is a model."

Abstract

This research addresses the topic of “the applicable law to intangible assets”, with a focus on intellectual, industrial, and commercial property as key examples of such assets. The significance of this subject has grown in light of digital transformation and technological advancement, as intangible rights—such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights—have become major components of modern wealth, which has complicated the task of determining the applicable law in cases of legal disputes.

The study begins with the premise that the lack of a tangible existence for these assets makes it difficult to apply traditional conflict of law rules, thus requiring the development of specialized connecting factors suited to their unique nature. The research is divided into two main parts: the first explores intellectual property, distinguishing between published works, which are governed by the law of the country of first publication, and unpublished works, for which legal opinion is divided between applying the law of the judge or the law of the author’s nationality.

The second part focuses on industrial and commercial property, noting that the prevailing view in legal doctrine is the adoption of the territoriality principle, whereby the applicable law is that of the country where the right is registered or exploited. The study also addresses the conflict of international agreements—especially between the TRIPS Agreement and other conventions—and highlights the role of the Vienna Convention in resolving such conflicts.

In conclusion, the research finds that Iraqi legislation still requires comprehensive development in this field, particularly in regard to digital intellectual property. It recommends the drafting of a unified law and calls for Iraq’s accession to relevant international agreements, along with the adoption of modern principles such as the reversal of the burden of proof and the principle of international exhaustion, in order to ensure effective protection of these rights.