Intellectual property in Iran

Novelty: No public knowledge in Iran or abroad sufficient to put into practice. The first person to apply for the registration of an invention in accordance with the law is considered the inventor of the patent, unless proven otherwise.

Types and duration: Patents are registered for 5, 10, 15 or 20 years, at the option of the applicant.

Unpatentable: Pharmaceutical formula and compounds are not patentable, but a patent application can be filed for processes related to the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. In addition, any invention or improvement on an invention disturbing public order or considered to be contrary to morality or public health cannot be patented.

Working: A patent will be vulnerable to cancellation if it is not worked during the five-year period following its date of granting. Although there are no explicit provisions concerning nominal working, in lieu of actual working, it is recommended that there be nominal working before the fifth anniversary of granting.

Registration: In October 2007 Iran's parliament approved becoming signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which enables patent holders in one country to register their patents in PCT member countries simply by filing a single application with the related national registration authority.

To register a patent, the documents listed below must be presented to the Patent Office within six months of the date of the Iranian application. This period of duration may be renewed only once for a justifiable excuse.

The applicant must present the following information: name and address; title of the invention or discovery; power of attorney duly legalized by the respective Iranian consulate; certified copy of the corresponding patent certificate (or application if benefiting from Paris Convention provisions); certified copy of the transferral document, if the applicant is not the original proprietor; and three copies of the related specifications, claims, plans and drawings.

If the patent office refuses an application because of insufficient documentation or because the application is contrary to the governing provisions, the patent applicant has the legal right to refer, personally or through a lawyer, to a competent court and ask for the cancellation of the patent office decision.

Registrable: Books, pamphlets, plays and all other literary, scientific and artistic writings, irrespective of the way they are written, recorded or broadcast; audiovisual works for stage or screen performances or for broadcasting by radio and television; paintings, pictures, drawings, designs, decorative writings, geographical maps or any decorative and imaginative work produced in any simple or complex manner; sculptures of all types; architectural works, designs, sketches and buildings; photographic works produced by any original methods; original articles of applied handicraft and industrial art, carpet and rug designs; original works based on folklore and national heritage of culture and arts.

Duration: The financial rights of the author are transferred to his heirs, or by covenant, for a period of 30 years after his death. In the absence of such heirs or a transfer by covenant, the Ministry of Culture and Arts will hold the rights for public use for the same period of time. In July 2010, the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) modified the country's copyright law, granting authors or creators of an original work permanent right to copy, distribute and adapt the work.

Types and duration: A trademark may be registered for ten years, renewable indefinitely for additional ten-year periods.

Legal effect: Registration gives an owner the exclusive right to use a trademark on the goods for which the trademark is registered. The owner may prevent other parties from using the trademark on competing products.

Any trademark, whether already registered or being presented for registration, may be contested by the person who 0claims that it belongs to him, or that the resemblance is so close that it may mislead the consumer.

Any opposition to the registration of a trademark on the grounds of prior use or close resemblance, and/or claims relating to the infringement of a registered trademark, may be filed with the General Courts of Tehran. The right to contest a trademark is in force for three years, starting from the actual date of its registration. The registered trademark then becomes incontestable in the courts.

The proprietor is entitled to take civil legal actions and/or lodge complaints involving legal penalties to prevent third parties from infringing his right of ownership. Remedies may include damages, costs, and an injunction preventing further violations. Under Articles 529 and 530 of the Islamic Penal Code (Taazirat), commission of forgery or unauthorized use of registered trademarks incurs civil liabilities and imprisonment of up to two years. Punishment for the forgery of trademarks of governmental and municipal companies and establishment as well as using such forged trademarks varies from 3–15 years and from six months to three years of imprisonment, respectively.

Not registrable: The official flag of Iran; any flag that the government has prohibited to be used as a trademark; badges, medals and insignia of the Iranian government; marks of official institutions such as the Iranian Red Crescent or the International Red Cross; words and/or phrases creating an impression of official connection with Iranian authorities; marks contrary to public order and public morals (the standard for this is tougher in Iran than in most other countries); and marks that so closely resemble an already registered mark that it would cause confusion or deceive consumers.

Working: If a trademark has not been used in Iran or abroad within three years from the registration date and if the owner or his legal representative fails to furnish a valid reason, any interested party may apply to the court and request cancellation of trademark.

Registration: To register a trademark, an applicant (Iranian or foreign) should refer in person or through an attorney to the Registration Office for Industrial Property, in Tehran, and file a request for obtaining a certificate of trademark registration. Applications are published in the official gazette so that interested parties may inspect and, if needed, contest them. The registrar examines applications for format, content and consistency in compliance with the relevant rules of registration. If the registrar rejects an application, the applicant may appeal in court.

In addition, the office formally examines trademark applications for any conflict with previously registered trademarks or applications and for compliance with Iranian patent and trademark law. Resemblance of a trademark to a previously registered mark or application takes into account appearance, pronunciation, form of writing or any other similarity.

To register a trademark, the applicant must present the following information: full name and address of applicant(s); power of attorney duly recognized by the Iranian Consulate (a single power of attorney is sufficient for all trademarks); details of the trademark, presented with 12 samples; specifications of goods and classes (according to International Classification).

Iran ratified the Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (The Hague, 14 May 1954.) in 1959 and the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (Paris, 14 November 1970.) in 1975, and agreed to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (Paris, 16 November 1972) and to the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. (The Hague, 26 March 1999) in 2005.[15]

Iran is a signatory to the International Convention for Protection of Industrial Property (also known as the Paris Convention).[14] The Paris Convention requires Iran to grant the same protection to the industrial property of the nationals of the members of the treaty as to that of Iranians.

Iran is a member of the WIPO since 2002 and has acceded to several WIPO intellectual property treaties. However, Iran is not a signatory to the WIPO Copyright Treaty.

As per WIPO's report titled "World Intellectual Property Indicators 2013", Iran ranked 90th for patents generated by Iranian nationals all over the world, 100th in industrial design and 82nd in trademarks, positioning Iran below Jordan and Venezuela in this regard but above Yemen and Jamaica.[16][17]

The Council of Ministers passed Decree H24305T/6921 in December 2003, ratifying Iran’s accession to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and its protocol. In accordance with the agreement, nationals of any contracting country may secure protection for their marks in all the other acceding countries by registering them with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

In 2005 Iran joined the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, which ensures the protection of geographical names associated with products. The Lisbon Agreement went into force in March 2006. As a direct consequence, Iran’s Customs Administration has banned the import of goods that are produced overseas but bear Iranian brand names.[18]