The authors of literary and artistic works have two economic rights of reproduction and distribution over their intellectual creations; however, they are generally unable to exercise these rights due to the lack of the necessary capability and expertise. Therefore, they assign these rights, by means of a contract, to individuals possessing expertise and investment capacity in this field. The contractual party concerning the right of reproduction is, in principle, the publisher, and the contractual party concerning the right of distribution consists of holders of related rights. Unlike publishers, holders of related rights have not confined themselves to contractual protections, because their relationship is not limited to a particular category of persons such as publishers; rather, a network of persons, including performers, phonogram producers, and broadcasting organizations, must intervene sequentially in the process of making the works available so that such works may ultimately reach the public. Therefore, the complex network existing among these persons and the substantial investments made in this field necessitate the recognition of rights separate and independent from the author’s rights. This research‚ using a descriptive-analytical method‚ seeks to explain the position of these rights in the legal system of Iran and concludes that in Iran‚ the law governing related rights provides protection solely to phonogram producers and broadcasting organizations, and even such protection is afforded in an incomplete manner. However, in practice‚ some person subject to related rights have claimed or even acquired the author’s rights by resorting to the author’s rights act and presenting themselves as the author.