Trademark Law

• Chapter 1: Registration of Trademarks

• Chapter 2: Registration of Patents

• Chapter 3: Common Regulations

CHAPTER 1

Article 2
The right to use any certain trademark is recognized only for the person who has registered the trademark.
 

Article 3
Iranian or foreign nationals in Iran with commercial, industrial or agricultural establishments who, have their trademarks registered under the provisions of the articles given herein under, shall benefit from all privileges of the law.

Article 4
Persons with commercial, industrial or agricultural establishments abroad, may enjoy the privileges of the law under the following provisions: 1. Register their trademarks in Iran according to regulations.
2. The country in which their establishments are situated have treaty relations, or domestic laws, protecting Iranian trademarks.
 

Article 5
None of the following markings may be used as a trademark in whole or in part of the trademark:
1. The state or any other flag, the use of which is unauthorized by the government of Iran, medals, decorations and arms of the Iranian government.
2. Canceled.
3. Phrases or words which may give the impression of a connection with official authorities of the state or government.
4. Insignias of official authorities such as the Red Cross, etc.
5. Signs which disturb public law and order or harm public morality.
 

Article 6
Registration applicants must, personally or through an attorney, request the registration of their trademark from the special branch which has been established by the First Instance Court of Tehran for this purpose. The application must be made in a written statement which will be entered into a special book upon receipt by the special branch, and a receipt issued for same.
 

Article 7
The officer in charge of the said branch (see article above) must decide whether to accept or refuse the application within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the application and other annexed documents.
If the application for registration is rejected, the reasons must be clearly stated. The applicant may file a petition before the First Instance Court of Tehran within ten days from the date of rejection of his application. The court's verdict is also subject to appeal to a higher (supreme) court.
 

Article 8
If the application for registration of a trademark is approved by the officer in charge of the special branch, or if, after his rejection of the application, the application is upheld by a final court verdict, the Tehran Department of Deeds Registration will be required to register the trademark and issue an official registration certificate within 15 days of receipt of a copy of the approval, or court verdict.
 

Article 9
The officer in charge of the special branch (ref. Article 6) may reject an application on the following grounds:
1. When the mark is contrary to the Law.
2. If the mark has already been registered in someone else's name, or if the resemblance between the mark under application and an already-registered mark is so great that ordinary members of the public, the consumer and persons without specialized knowledge, may be confused by it.
 

Article 10
The registration of a trademark shall have the following data:
1. Date (day, month and year) of registration in words.
2. Name, profession, address and nationality of the owner of the trademark and his attorney (if the application has been made through an attorney).
3. Name and description of goods or the category of goods for which the mark has been registered.
4. A brief description of the trademark, with specific reference to the parts which the owner wishes to reserve for his own use exclusively; and
5. The registration fee charged.
 

Article 11
Any change in the trademark, or the goods covered by such trademarks, must also be registered in accordance with the law, otherwise the changes will not be subject to the protection of the law.
 

Article 12
A trademark may be assigned or transferred, but such a transfer or assignment to a third party will be legal only when it is registered in accordance with the law.
 

Article 13
The registration of a trademark or changes thereof, will be published in the Official Gazette of the Ministry of Justice within fifteen days from the date of registration by the Tehran Deeds Restration Department but at the expense of the applicant.
 

Article 14
Registered trademarks will enjoy protection from the date of submission of the original application. The validity period of registration of a trademark is ten years, after which period the owner may apply for a further period of ten years.
 

Article 15
The registration fee charged for the registration of trademarks can be obtained from HAMI Legal Services.
 

Article 16
The following persons may object to a trademark for the registration of which an application has been submitted:
1. Persons who consider the trademark to be their own; and
2. Persons who consider the applicant's trademark sufficiently resembling their own as to confuse ordinary consumers.
In either of the above two cases, if the objector has not already registered the trademark in his own name, he should at the same time of his objection, take action and to apply for the registration of the trademark under dispute. He must pay all the registration and other costs in advance. For persons whose establishment is situated abroad, the right to object will be conditional upon reciprocal arrangements as specified in Section 2 of Article 4.
 

Article 17
If the objection is filed before the registration of the trademark under application, the objection must be transmitted to the applicant in the manner, and within the period specified in the regulations. If the applicant does not concede the right of the objector and does not withdraw his applications, then the objector may file a petition within the period specified in the regulations with the First Instance Court of Tehran.
The procedure regarding the registration of the application will be suspended during the filing of the petition. If however, the objector does not file a petition within the specified period (or when he does, he fails to prosecute) the trademark will be registered in the name of the applicant and all moneys deposited by the objector will be confiscated by the government.
 

Article 18
If the objection is concerning a trademark which is already registered, the objector should refer directly to the First Instance Court of Tehran and must request the cancellation of the registration.
 

Article 19
Except where otherwise provided for by the Ministry of Justice regulations, all such petitions shall be dealt with under Commercial Law and in any case the verdict of the court will be subject to appeal to a higher (supreme) court.
NOTE: The final verdict will be published (at the expense of the winner of the case) in the Official Gazette of the Ministry of Justice and also in a daily newspaper in Tehran; the winner may demand the cost of publication along with other damages from the loser.
 

Article 20
Should the objector prove to have priority right in respect of a trademark resulting from prior continuous usage, the court shall hold that the trademark be registered in the name of the objector, and if the said trademark has already been registered at the Tehran Deeds Registration Department, then the court shall hold that the former registration be canceled and the trademark to be registered in the name of the objector.
 

Article 21
The above mentioned procedure shall be followed in the case of an objection to the assignment of a trademark, changes in the trademark or changes in products included under that trademark.
 

Article 22
If no objection is raised against the registration of a trademark within the first three years from the date of registration, no objection will be considered afterwards unless it is proved that the applicant was aware, during the course of registration, that the trademark had been continuously used by the objector or by another person who had transferred the trademark to the objector. If the applicant can then prove that the objector was aware of the registration within the three years then the objection will be rejected.
 

Article 23
The necessary regulations will be prepared by the Ministry of Justice for the enforcement of this law.
 

Article 24
Trademarks registered by persons with industrial, commercial or agricultural concerns in Iran, registered under the Industrial Patents Act of 1923, shall remain valid for the balance of the period of ten years since registration.
 

Article 25
Persons with commercial, industrial or agricultural concerns outside Iran who have registered their trademarks according to the Act of 9th Farvardin 1304 (30 March 1926), or who have applied for registration under that Act but obtain their registration after the approval of this Law, will enjoy the protection of this Law for the balance of their ten years provided that the country in which their establishment is situated offers such protection under treaty with Iran or through it's international laws.

CHAPTER 2

Article 27
Any person who makes any of the following claims, may apply for a patent:
1. New innovation for a new industrial product;
2. Discovery of a new means or the discovery of new methods using existing ones to obtain a different result or product in industry or agriculture.
 

Article 28
A patent may not be applied for, in the following cases:
1. Financial schemes;
2. A new invention or the development of an existing invention harmful to public law and order, or public health or morality; and
3. Pharmaceutical formula or compounds.
 

Article 29
The first person who applies for the registration of an invention in accordance with the provisions of this law shall be considered the inventor for that particular invention, unless proved otherwise.
 

Article 30
An inventor who has patented his invention outside Iran, if his patent is still valid, may also apply for the registration of his invention in Iran, for the remaining period of validity of his patent. However, if a person or establishment has been using his invention, in whole or part in Iran before he applies for a patent; or should the use be in the preparatory stage at the time of application for a patent, the inventor may not prevent the further use of the invention in whole or part, by that person or establishment.
 

Article 31
The provisions of Article 6, 7 and 8 of this law shall also be valid for the application for patents of invention.
 

Article 32
An application for registration will be accepted when the inventor or his representative pay in advance, for the application and at least the registration charge for the first year set down in Article 34. The charge set collected for the application, will in no circumstances be returned.
 

Article 33
The period of validity of a patent shall range, according to the request of the inventor, between 10, 15 or 20 years. This period shall be clearly stated in the patent and during this period the inventor or his legally appointed representative may have exclusive right to build, sell, apply or otherwise use the invention.
 

Article 34
A registration fee for patent of invention shall be collected according to the schedule of charges which can be obtained from HAMI Legal Services.
All or part of the fee may be paid in cash during the patenting of the invention. In the case of cash payment, a discount of 5% shall be given for the cash payment for five years, 10% for ten years, 15% for 15 years and 20% for twenty years.
 

Article 35
If the fee for a year has not been paid in advance, it should be settled within the first three months of the year, otherwise the patent shall become invalidated, unless the inventor pays double the amount within the next three months of the year.
 

Article 36
A patent certificate can not be used as proof that an invention is commercially usable, or that it is new, or genuinely practical, nor does it prove that the person who has taken the patent, or his representative, is the actual inventor; or that the description of drawings of the invention are true. Interested persons may file a petition with the First Instance Court of Tehran in any of the above cases to prove that the statements are not true.
 

Article 37
In the following cases interested parties may apply to the First Instance Court of Tehran and petition to cancel a patent:
1. When the invention is not a new one;
2. When the patent has been obtained contrary to the provisions of Article 28, or
3. When the invention is purely scientific and theoretic nature and has no practical uses industry or agriculture; or
4. When no practical use has been made of the invention five years after a patent has been obtained.
NOTE: Any existing invention or development of an existing invention which has been described in publications, or whose drawings have appeared in publications, or which has been used and utilized before the date of application for patent in Iran or abroad, is not considered a new invention.
 

Article 38
Provisions of Article 19 shall be binding in connection with the provisions of Articles 36 and 38.
 

Article 39
A patent holder may transfer, in whole or in part or in any other way he may desire, the ownership or right of use of his invention to a second party. If the transfer has been due to inheritance, the next of kin may use the patent only after he has registered such a transfer.
 

Article 40
All transactions concerning a patent must be properly and legally documented, otherwise the transactions will not be valid for the second party. If the transaction takes place outside Iran, the transaction becomes valid for the second party only when it is registered by the Tehran Deeds Registration Department.
 

Article 41
The registration fee of the above -mentioned transactions or transfers shall be determined by the Ministry of Justice. (Please contact HAMI Legal Services for the more recent schedule of charges).
 

Article 42
All patents and other documents related to the registration of an invention are open to public inspection after registration of the invention and issuance of the patent. Any person, upon payment of a fee to be fixed by special regulations, may obtain a certified copy of the documents or papers related to an invention or transactions related to it.
 

Article 43
The owner of an invention or his legal representative, may make any changes to his invention during the entire period of validity of the patent and register such changes in accordance with the law. For the details regarding the registration fee, please contact HAMI Legal Services for a more recent schedule of charges.
 

Article 44
In respect of foreign nationals who apply for patents in Iran, but who are not domiciled in Iran, the regulations of treaties signed with their government is applicable; if no such treaty exists, then they will be treated on reciprocal basis.
 

Article 45
The Ministry of Justice will draw up the regulations concerning the provisions of this Chapter.

CHAPTER 3

Common Regulations
Article 46
Civil or penal proceedings concerning patent or trademark shall be heard by the Tehran Court of Justice, whether the crime takes place or is discovered outside Tehran or the accused is arrested outside Tehran, in this case the preliminary investigation shall be carried out in the place where the crime took place or where it was discovered or the accused arrested, and the records shall be sent to the Tehran Court of Justice for examination.
 

Article 47
If, during a criminal trial the accused raises questions of ownership of the trademark or patent of invention, in his defense, the court will examine the question of ownership also.
 

Article 48
The Ministry of Justice shall regulate the procedures for the collection of evidence, the seizure of goods produced in violation of the trademark or patent of invention; and the period allowed to the accuser to file a petition after the seizure of goods, after which if the accuser fails to file a petition the goods will be released. Such regulations will regulate the action of both judicial authorities and executive authorities officials, such as customs officials etc.
 

Article 49
Damages demanded in civil or criminal cases concerning patent or trademark rights shall include inflicted losses and also loss of earnings or profits.
 

Article 50
The Act of 9th Farvadin 1304 (1925) concerning trademarks is hereby annulled. This law shall come into force effective from the 15th day, of the month of Tir, 1310 (1931).
 

Article 51
The Ministry of Justice is hereby assigned to enforce this law.