Trademark and Brand Registration

6. A sample of the requested mark (in a 10 x 10 cm box).

Note: if the image of the mark or name you wish to register does not use a Latin word or letters, providing a business card will not be required.

The Registration Process

Then go to the Industrial Property system (the trademark registration section) at sherkat.ssaa.ir, and complete the steps to register a trademark application according to whether you are a natural or legal person. The applicant must specify which class and category their trademark falls under. After completing the requested information, upload the listed documents on the system, and finally review and confirm the entered information and pay the initial registration fee online. After this stage, a tracking number will be sent to you.

The Industrial Property Office examines the application for compliance with the conditions and regulations set out in the law, and, if it finds any deficiencies, notifies the applicant to correct them. It should be noted that the office's response can only be viewed through the application-tracking section and case summary, and all correspondence regarding the application takes place through this same system.

Grounds for Refusal

Under Article 9 of the Trademarks and Patents Registration Act: "In the following cases, the official of the branch referred to in Article 6 shall reject the application for registration:

• if the mark is contrary to the provisions of the law;

• if the mark has previously been registered in another person's name, or if its similarity to another registered mark is such that it would mislead ordinary consumers -- that is, persons without specialized knowledge."

If the Industrial Property Office determines that the conditions set out in this law have been met, it registers the mark and publishes the relevant registration notice. (Payment of the registration fees is the applicant's responsibility.)

It should be noted that the matter is announced in the Official Gazette, stating the name and address of the mark's owner and the goods on which the mark is used, with all particulars.

Rights Pending Registration and the Opposition Period

After publication of the application notice and until the mark is registered, the applicant enjoys the privileges and rights they would have upon registration. However, if a lawsuit is brought by the applicant regarding an act carried out after publication of the application notice, and the defendant proves that, at the time the act was carried out, the mark was not legally registrable, the defendant's defense will be examined, and an appropriate decision will be made regarding registration or non-registration of the mark. If no objection is raised by an interested party within 30 days from the date of publication of the notice, the registry office will register the requested mark in the name of the applicant in the special register, and will issue the certificate of registration to the applicant. (Derived from Articles 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 of the Implementing Bylaw of the Trademarks and Patents Registration Act.)

It should also be noted that if the respondent to an opposition proves that the objecting party was aware, before applying for registration, of the respondent's continuous use of the mark in question and nevertheless raised no objection, the court will disregard the registration opposition raised by the objecting party, and the mark will be registered in the name of the respondent. The reason for this is that the legislature protects the rights of a person who has a longer history of using the mark prior to the registration application, provided this does not result in deception or the infringement of another's rights.

If the owner of a mark, with knowledge and awareness of another's use, raises no objection, this is evidence of their abandonment of their right and, in effect, a form of implied permission for the other person's use. In such a case, that person cannot, after the mark has become well known through another's use and has built up goodwill for that other person's goods, invoke prior use as a pretext to take unfair advantage of the other person's reputation, effort, and initiative.

Note: persons who, outside Iran, own industrial, commercial, or agricultural establishments may, in addition to meeting the conditions set out above, benefit from the protection of Iranian law for their trademarks by meeting the following conditions:

1. They have registered their marks in Iran in accordance with Iranian law.

2. Their home country also protects Iranian trademarks.

Term and Renewal of Registration

The term of a trademark registration is ten years from the date the registration application is submitted. This term can be renewed, at the owner's request, for successive ten-year periods upon payment of the prescribed fee. A six-month grace period, beginning at the end of the term, is provided for paying the renewal fee, subject to a late-payment penalty. Any interested party may request annulment of the mark's registration from the court. Under Article 59, disputes arising from the implementation of this law and its implementing bylaw fall within the jurisdiction of a specific branch or branches of the general courts of Tehran.

In addition, if a registered mark remains unused for a period of three years from the date of registration, any interested party may request its annulment from the competent court.

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