Area: 1.645 million square kilometers

The population is 88.55 million. The provinces with the highest population concentrations are Tehran, Isfahan, Fars, Khorasan Razavi, and East Azerbaijan. Persians make up 66% of the population, Azerbaijanis make up 25%, Kurds make up 5%, and the remainder are ethnic minorities such as Arabs and Turkmen. The official language is Persian. Islam is the state religion, practiced by 98.8% of the population, of whom 91% are Shia and 7.8% are Sunni. According to the World Bank, Iran's GDP in 2022 was approximately US$413.5 billion, with a per capita GDP of US$4,670.

1. Treaty Membership
2. Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Convention)

Accession: 1959

2. Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Accession: 2013

3. Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol)

Accession: 2003

4. Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks

Accession: 2003

III. Trademark Application Procedure and Required Documents

1. Trademark Registrable Elements and Types

Elements that can be registered as trademarks in Iran include: text, graphics, symbols, slogans, three-dimensional logos, color combinations, holograms, etc.

The types of trademarks that can be registered in Iran include: trademarks, service marks, certification trademarks, and trade names.

1. Filing Routes

1) National filing (direct filing)

2) Madrid International Registration

3. Required Documents

• Power of attorney legalized by the embassy or consulate
• Notarized business license or commercial register extract (the scope of goods/services registered must not exceed the scope of business licensed);
• Clear representation of the mark;
• List of goods and/or services;
• Applicant's name, address and nationality;
• If a priority is claimed, a certified copy of the priority document and its Persian translation must be submitted within three months from the filing date.

Remark:

Israeli or Israeli companies are not allowed to apply for trademarks in Iran.
Trademarks covering Class 33 goods, intangible marks, images and figures of women, and words deemed to violate good morals and public order are not eligible for registration.

Applications under Class 32 for "beer" must clarify that the intended product is "non-alcoholic beer."

Packaging for pharmaceuticals, veterinary drugs, toiletries, as well as food and beverages, is subject to mandatory registration. 

4. Application Procedure and Timeline

Filing: the 10th edition of the Nice Classification is adopted; multiple-class applications are possible; the principle of first-to-file is followed; applications for the whole class are not accepted

Examination: formal examination and substantive examination; 6 months

Publication/Opposition: the opposition period is 30 days

Registration: About 10 months from filing to registration (if smooth).

5. Protection Period and Renewal

The validity period is 10 years from the date of application and can be renewed for 10 years each time before expiration.

6. Assignment

Only registered trademarks can be assigned. To do so, you must provide a power of attorney legalized by the embassy or consulate, a business license and its certified translation, an assignment agreement legalized by the embassy or consulate, and a scanned copy of the registration certificate. The processing time is approximately 8 months.

7. Chang of Name/Address

Only registered trademarks can be changed. You need to provide a power of attorney legalized by the embassy or consulate, a proof of change legalized by the embassy or consulate, a business license and its certified translation, and a scanned copy of the registration certificate. The processing period is about 8 months.

8. Cancellation

Non-use Cancellation: If a trademark has not been used for three consecutive years, any interested party may file a cancellation request for the non-used trademark.

1. Trademark application statistics *:

A: Statistics on total trademark applications:

2020: 150,588

2021: 149,077

2022: 107,304

B: Statistics of trademark applications from China:

2020: 2,010

2021: 1,835

2022:837