Intellectual Property Law of Iran at a Glance
Intellectual Property Law protects intellectual/intangible assets including inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications. The role of new ideas in economic growth, sustainable development, and technological advancement is undeniable. A legitimate concern of foreign investors is the protection of their intellectual property. As a member state of WIPO and a signatory of multiple international treaties, Iran has an advanced legal framework regarding intellectual property.
Bayan Emrooz Law Firm renders services to foreign and Iranian natural and legal persons in all IP-related fields, including registration of inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications. Registration of intellectual property rights could be done through two conceivable avenues using either national or international mechanisms. Such registrations have several business benefits and practical implications.
As far as national registration is concerned, the Law on Registration of Inventions, Industrial Designs, and Trade Marks (2007) is the main legislation in Iran in this field. The Executive Directive of this law provides further details as to the formalities required. The process must be completed electronically. As a general rule, there is a “first to file” prerogative for all these registration types. Therefore, timely action is critical, and seeking assistance from qualified lawyers is very important in this sense.
Inventions
As to “Inventions”, according to Article 16 of the law, subject to the payment of annual fees, invention registration can remain valid for 20 years. The most important benefit arising from the registration of an invention is gaining the exclusive right to goods produced using the registered process and the right to take legal action against copycats.
Industrial Designs
As to “Industrial Design”, according to Article 21 of the mentioned law, the design must be new and original. The validity of such registrations is initially five years, which could be renewed for two more five-year terms, adding up to 15 cumulative years subject to the payment of relevant fees. There is a six-month respite for the payment of fees upon the end of each term.
Trademarks
Regarding “Trademarks”, they are graphic designs that are used to identify goods and services. Once registered, they remain valid for a period of ten years, which is infinitely renewable for successive ten-year periods subject to making payments required by law. Similar to industrial designs, there shall be a six-month respite for the payment of fees. Up to 30 days after the publication of an advertisement for a new trademark, interested third parties may object if the registered trademark is very similar to a different company’s trademark or if it does not meet other legal requirements. Such objection must be submitted to the Industrial Property Office. However, after the lapse of these thirty days, objections could only be raised in competent courts.
Geographical Indications
Geographical Indications can be registered using The Law Protecting Geographical Indication (2004) and its executive directive. There is no time limit to the protection of geographical indications.
IP Protection
As far as international registration of the intellectual property is concerned, there are two disparate mechanisms for patents and trademarks. For patents, Iran has acceded to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). By filing one international patent application under the PCT, Iranian applicants can simultaneously seek protection for an invention in 148 countries throughout the world. Applicants could either submit their documents to the National Patent Office or send their application directly to WIPO. In any case, acceptance of an international patent registration depends on the completion of certain formalities. As for trademarks, since Iran has joined to Madrid Agreement of 1891 and the Madrid Protocol of 1989, it is possible to use the Madrid trademark system for Iranians. As a pre-requisite to using this system, the trademark should first be registered with the Office of Industrial Property. The main advantage of using this system is that the applicant can register their trademark inexpensively in up to 85 countries all at once.
About Us
Bayan Emrooz is a boutique Law Firm, was founded in 2008 in Tehran, that renders legal services at international levels for foreign and local clients. The firm enjoys the support and cooperation of highly qualified associates and legal experts each specializing in one or two legal fields. The firm has five main departments namely, Energy Law, Investment Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Commercial Law, and Domestic Law departments. In addition to the named departments, the Arbitration and Litigation section of the firm takes a leading role in support of our clients and firming up our services in different departments. We are pleased to provide legal services to foreign and local companies in different legal aspects of their business and commercial activities. Our various legal services depend largely on the type of investment as well as the requirements of each business project. While each company requires a degree of general legal information and background, our team of experts also renders services that would be more specifically tailored to the needs of each specific sector. The firm owes its unrivaled position to the spirit of teamwork; having brought some of the finest experts in named areas together.
For further information on our services and core team, please visit our website and feel free to contact us should you need any further information.
