Trademark registration in Iran. Iran also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is the easternmost country in the Middle East, and in Western Asia. Iran’s economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service venture. Furthermore, Iran is ranked as an upper-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of trademark registration in Iran.
Signs registrable as a trademark in Iran
Signs registrable as a trademark in Iran include any design, image, word, expression, seal, cover, etc., which is used to distinguish industrial, commercial, or agricultural products.
Furthermore, non-traditional marks such as Three-dimensional marks and Colour marks are also registrable in Iran.
It should be noted that signs such as national flag, official emblems, and other types of forbidden signs cannot be registered as a trademark in Iran, including trademarks covering “alcoholic beverages” in class 33, “beer and ale “ in class 32, and all trademarks comprising portraits of a woman in any form.
Necessary documents for trademark registration in Iran
Necessary documents for trademark registration in Iran include:
- Detail information of the applicant;
- Trademark models;
- A detailed list of goods and services;
- A legalized Power of Attorney (POA);
- A legalized copy of the incorporation certificate for the applicant (if a corporation);
The procedure of trademark registration in Iran
A trademark application has to be filed before the Trademark Office by a local agent.
After receiving the trademark application, the examiner at the Trademark Office in Iran will examine the application to ensure that there are no errors in the application.
If there are no errors detected, the trademark will be published. After the publication of the trademark, there will be a 30 days opposition period when any related third parties who feel like their rights are violated may file for opposition to the registration of the trademark.
If there are no oppositions or the oppositions are resolved with the winner is the applicant, the trademark will be registered and the trademark registration certificate will be issued to the applicant.
Note:
The typical time frame to complete the registration process in Iran is 6 months from first filing to registration.
Use requirement of a trademark in Iran
The applicant doesn’t need to use the trademark prior in order to file for trademark registration in Iran.
However, prior use is recommended to have a higher claim to the trademark if any future dispute may happen.
After successful trademark registration in Iran, the trademark owner needs to use the trademark for at least 3 consecutive years from the registration date in order to avoid any cancellation actions raised by third parties.
Trademark owners are not required to submit any proof of use of the trademark unless a third party files a request for cancellation on the ground of non-use.
You can see a list of Iran IP firms here.