A Brief Historical view of Intellectual Property Regulations in Iran

1) Industrial Property Rights (Patent, Trademark, Industrial design, Geographical Indications,…):
From 1931 to 2008, "Patent and Trademark Registration Act" was applicable. According to this Act, industrial designs and geographical indications were not registrable . This Act remained in force for about 77 years without any changes till October 2007. in October 2007 new Act named “Patent, Industrial Design and Trademark Registration Act” enacted by Parliament and its Implementary Regulations have recently been approved by the Head of the judicial system of Iran. According to the new Act, Industrial designs for the first time in Iranian regulatory period among others, are protectable. this law is more compatible with international treaties including TRIPs(Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property rights).

The main features of this Act inter alia, are as;
About Patents, the system of registration of patents is First-to-file; there is a grace period of 6 month for filing a patent application after a disclosure and publicising the invention; compulsory license is provided; duration of protection for patent is 20 years counted from filing date of the application(in order to maintenance of validity of patent certificate or application, every year as from filing date of application maintenance fee as provided for in the Act must be paid to Office for Industrial Property. If the payment is not made in due time, the application is deemed abandoned or the certificate is deemed invalid(of course there is a grace period of 6 month by additional payment)).

For registering industrial designs the Novelty and/or originality is of the criteria; grace period is the same as patent; duration of protection is initial period of 5 years with the possibility of renewal for two further periods of 5 years with the request of right holder.

In trademark area, any visual signs capable of distinguishing the goods or services of natural or legal persons from those of others can be registrable(audible signs(sound mark) such as music or vocal sounds and also fragrance signs(smell marks) are not protected); collective marks and trade names are protected; protection is obtained just by registration; duration of protection is 10 years with the possibility of renewal for further periods of 10 years;

For each patent, trademark and industrial designs assignment and license has been provided; in the case of committing an infringement of the rights granted, if it has been done knowingly and willingly the accused party might be considered to remedy(the damages of plaintiff) and criminal sanctions(either or both of fines(from 10,000,000Rials=1100$ U.S. to 50,000,000Rials) and imprisonment sentence(from 91 days to 6 month).

As far as Geographical Indications and Plant Varieties are concerned, there are special laws(Sui generis regime) for protection respectively named “ Act for Protection of geographical indications”(Appellation of Origin), enacted on January 2005 and “ Act for Registration of Plant Varieties, Control and Certification of Seeds and Seedlings” enacted in July, 2003.http://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/ira40210E.pdf .

Term of protection of plant varieties is at last 18 years.

It is noticeable here that according to Act for Protection of Geographical Indications(Article 3(a)) protection can be obtained even without registration, but it is necessary for Geographical Indication to be proved that in practice it attributes the origin of specific goods to particular area, place or country and in fact the quality, reputation and any other characteristics of the goods is essentially attributable to that specific geographical area. Any false and deceptive attribution to a specific geographical area may be considered as committing an infringement which results in legal remedy(paying for damages or loss in favor of plaintiff ) as well as criminal sanctions (either or both of monetary fines(from 10,000,000 Rials=1100$ U.S. to 50,000,000Rials in favour of government) and imprisonment sentence (from 91 days to 6 months) . The court may pass an interim order at the claimant's request.

2) Copyright And Related Right:
As far as Copyright is concerned, according to some special subject matters of copyright, there are three Laws for protection as:
1-“Act for the Protection of Authors, Composers and Artist Rights” enacted in January 1970.
2- “ Act for Translation and Reproduction of books, periodicals and audio works” enacted in 1973.
3- “ Act for protection of Software Producers” enacted in 2000.
According to Iranian copyright system, copyright holder is given two kinds of rights as Economic right and moral right. Unlike most common law countries in which by expiring economic right moral right is also expired, there is no any limitation to moral right in Iranian Act . In other word, protection of moral right is perpetual.
All Intellectual property right on the internet, are protected by the" Electronic Commerce Act "(2003).

3) Iran’s position in International level of Intellectual property:
International Treaties that Iran has acceded till now are as follows:
1) “Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization”(WIPO Convention).(2002)
2) “Paris Convention for protection of Industrial property”.(acceded in 1959 and 1999(to the stockholm revision).
3) For Trademarks to “Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of marks” and " the Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks" .(2003)
4) For Geographical indication to: 1) Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration.(2006). 2) Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indication of Source on Goods.(2004)
5) As far as Copyright and Related Rights are concerned Iran has not yet acceded to any International treaty.

World Intellectual Property Day - April 26
Most people are aware of intellectual property (IP) - of copyright, patents, industrial designs and trademarks. But many still view these as business or legal concepts with little relevance to their own lives. To address this gap, WIPO’s Member States decided in 2000 to designate an annual World Intellectual Property Day. They chose April 26, the date on which the Convention establishing WIPO originally entered into force in 1970.
Each year, WIPO and its Member States celebrate World Intellectual Property Day with activities, events and campaigns. These seek to increase public understanding of what IP really means, and to demonstrate how the IP system fosters not only music, arts and entertainments, but also all the products and technological innovations that help to shape our world.
WIPO issues a message from the Director General each year, broadcasts a short publicity spot on international television channels, and dispatches posters and other promotional materials to IP offices and organizations. Reports of activities organized by Member States are published on this site.
The aims of World IP Day are:
- to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life;
- to increase understanding of how protecting IP rights helps promote creativity and innovation;
- to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe;
- to encourage respect for the IP rights of others.

for more please have a look at WIPO web site: http://www.wipo.int/

Inventions (Patents)

What is a Patent?
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. In order to be patentable, the invention must fulfill certain conditions (please see the answer to the question below " what kinds of inventions can be patented?").
What does a Patent do?
A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent. The protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years.
What kind of Protection does a Patent offer?
Patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the patent owner's consent. These patent rights are usually enforced in a court, which, in most systems, holds the authority to stop patent infringement. Conversely, a court can also declare a patent invalid upon a successful challenge by a third party.
What Rights does a Patent Owner have?
A patent owner has the right to decide who may - or may not - use the patented invention for the period in which the invention is protected. The patent owner may give permission to, or license, other parties to use the invention on mutually agreed terms. The owner may also sell the right to the invention to someone else, who will then become the new owner of the patent. Once a patent expires, the protection ends, and an invention enters the public domain, that is, the owner no longer holds exclusive rights to the invention, which becomes available to commercial exploitation by others.
Why are Patents necessary?
Patents provide incentives to individuals by offering them recognition for their creativity and material reward for their marketable inventions. These incentives encourage innovation, which assures that the quality of human life is continuously enhanced.
What Role do Patents Play in Everyday Life?
Patented inventions have, in fact, pervaded every aspect of human life, from electric lighting (patents held by Edison and Swan) and plastic (patents held by Baekeland), to ballpoint pens (patents held by Biro) and microprocessors (patents held by Intel, for example).
All patent owners are obliged, in return for patent protection, to publicly disclose information on their invention in order to enrich the total body of technical knowledge in the world. Such an ever-increasing body of public knowledge promotes further creativity and innovation in others. In this way, patents provide not only protection for the owner but valuable information and inspiration for future generations of researchers and inventors.
How is a Patent Granted?
The first step in securing a patent is the filing of a patent application. The patent application generally contains the title of the invention, as well as an indication of its technical field; it must include the background and a description of the invention, in clear language and enough detail that an individual with an average understanding of the field could use or reproduce the invention. Such descriptions are usually accompanied by visual materials such as drawings, plans, or diagrams to better describe the invention. The application also contains various "claims", that is, information which determines the extent of protection granted by the patent.
What kinds of Inventions can be Protected?
An invention must, in general, fulfill the following conditions to be protected by a patent. It must be of practical use; it must show an element of novelty, that is, some new characteristic which is not known in the body of existing knowledge in its technical field. This body of existing knowledge is called " prior art". The invention must show an inventive step which could not be deduced by a person with average knowledge of the technical field. Finally, its subject matter must be accepted as "patentable" under law. In many countries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, plant or animal varieties, discoveries of natural substances, commercial methods, or methods for medical treatment (as opposed to medical products) are generally not patentable.
Who grants Patents?
A patent is granted by a national patent office or by a regional office that does the work for a number of countries, such as the European Patent Office and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization. Under such regional systems, an applicant requests protection for the invention in one or more countries, and each country decides as to whether to offer patent protection within its borders. The WIPO-administered Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) provides for the filing of a single international patent application which has the same effect as national applications filed in the designated countries. An applicant seeking protection may file one application and request protection in as many signatory states as needed.
How can a patent be obtained worldwide?
At present, no “world patents” or “international patents” exist
In general, an application for a patent must be filed, and a patent shall be granted and enforced, in each country in which you seek patent protection for your invention, in accordance with the law of that country. In some regions, a regional patent office, for example, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), accepts regional patent applications, or grants patents, which have the same effect as applications filed, or patents granted, in the member States of that region.
Further, any resident or national of a Contracting State of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) may file an international application under the PCT. A single international patent application has the same effect as national applications filed in each designated Contracting State of the PCT. However, under the PCT system, in order to obtain patent protection in the designated States, a patent shall be granted by each designated State to the claimed invention contained in the international application. Further information concerning the PCT is available.
Procedural and substantive requirements for the grant of patents as well as the amount of fees required are different from one country/region to the other. It is therefore recommend that you consult a practicing lawyer who is specialized in intellectual property or the intellectual property offices of those countries in which you are interested to get protection. A list of URLs and a directory of national and regional intellectual property offices are available.
Where can I find patent information?
In order to search patent applications and granted patents, some national or regional patent offices provide free-of charge electronic databases via Internet. A list of URLs of web-based databases is available:.
WIPO provides access to a comprehensive electronic database on published international patent applications filed under the PCT system from 1978 to the present day in image format and to fully searchable text of descriptions and claims for PCT International Applications filed as from July 1998.
Wherever web-based databases are not available, patent information may be consulted on paper, on microfilms or CD-ROMs, at the national or regional patent offices.
Searchable Internet patent databases have significantly facilitated the access to patent information. However, given the complexity of patent documents and the technical and legal skills required, it is advisable to contact a professional patent attorney if a high-quality patent search is required.
WIPO Patent Information Services (WPIS) provides free-of-charge services for users in developing countries who wish to obtain technical search results in relation to their inventions.
How can I find the patent laws of various countries?
The Collection of Laws for Electronic Access (CLEA) provides easy access to intellectual property legislation from a wide range of countries and regions as well as to treaties on intellectual property administered by WIPO.
Many national or regional patent Offices provide information concerning national or regional legislation on their web sites. A list of URLs of national and regional intellectual property offices are available.
Can I obtain a patent for my software-related invention?
Procedural and substantive requirements for the grant of patents are different from one country/region to the other. In particular, practices and case law regarding the patentability of software-related inventions vary significantly in different countries. For example, in some countries, “inventions” within the meaning of patent law must have a “technical character” and software as such is not considered a patentable invention, while in others, such requirements do not exist, so that sofrware is generally patentable subject matter.
It is therefore recommend that you consult a practicing lawyer who is specialized in intellectual property or the intellectual property offices of those countries in which you are interested to get protection. A list of URLs and a directory of national and regional intellectual property offices are available.
On the other hand, computer programs may be protected under copyright. However, according to a well-established principle, copyright protection extends only to expressions, not to ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such.
Can I discuss the details of my invention with a potential investor before filing a patent application?
It is important to file a patent application before publicly disclosing the details of the invention. In general, any invention which is made public before an application is filed would be considered prior art (although the definition of the term "prior art" is not unified at the international level, in many countries, it consists of any information which has been made available to the public anywhere in the world by written or oral disclosure). In countries which apply the above definition of the term "prior art", the applicant's public disclosure of the invention prior to filing a patent application would prevent him/her from obtaining a valid patent for that invention, since such invention would not comply with the novelty requirement. Some countries, however, allow for a grace period, which provides a safeguard for applicants who disclosed their inventions before filing a patent application, and the novelty criteria may be interpreted differently depending on the applicable law.
If it is inevitable to disclose your invention to, for example, a potential investor or a business partner, before filing a patent application, such a disclosure should be accompanied by a confidentiality agreement.

trademark

What is a trademark?
A trademark is a distinctive sign which identifies certain goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Its origin dates back to ancient times, when craftsmen reproduced their signatures, or "marks" on their artistic or utilitarian products. Over the years these marks evolved into today's system of trademark registration and protection. The system helps consumers identify and purchase a product or service because its nature and quality, indicated by its unique trademark, meets their needs.

What does a trademark do?
A trademark provides protection to the owner of the mark by ensuring the exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services, or to authorize another to use it in return for payment. The period of protection varies, but a trademark can be renewed indefinitely beyond the time limit on payment of additional fees. Trademark protection is enforced by the courts, which in most systems have the authority to block trademark infringement.
In a larger sense, trademarks promote initiative and enterprise worldwide by rewarding the owners of trademarks with recognition and financial profit. Trademark protection also hinders the efforts of unfair competitors, such as counterfeiters, to use similar distinctive signs to market inferior or different products or services. The system enables people with skill and enterprise to produce and market goods and services in the fairest possible conditions, thereby facilitating international trade.

What kinds of trademarks can be registered?
The possibilities are almost limitless. Trademarks may be one or a combination of words, letters, and numerals. They may consist of drawings, symbols, three- dimensional signs such as the shape and packaging of goods, audible signs such as music or vocal sounds, fragrances, or colors used as distinguishing features.
In addition to trademarks identifying the commercial source of goods or services, several other categories of marks exist. Collective marks are owned by an association whose members use them to identify themselves with a level of quality and other requirements set by the association. Examples of such associations would be those representing accountants, engineers, or architects. Certification marks are given for compliance with defined standards, but are not confined to any membership. They may be granted to anyone who can certify that the products involved meet certain established standards. The internationally accepted "ISO 9000" quality standards are an example of such widely-recognized certifications.

How is a trademark registered?
First, an application for registration of a trademark must be filed with the appropriate national or regional trademark office. The application must contain a clear reproduction of the sign filed for registration, including any colors, forms, or three-dimensional features. The application must also contain a list of goods or services to which the sign would apply. The sign must fulfill certain conditions in order to be protected as a trademark or other type of mark. It must be distinctive, so that consumers can distinguish it as identifying a particular product, as well as from other trademarks identifying other products. It must neither mislead nor deceive customers or violate public order or morality.
Finally, the rights applied for cannot be the same as, or similar to, rights already granted to another trademark owner. This may be determined through search and examination by the national office, or by the opposition of third parties who claim similar or identical rights.

How extensive is trademark protection?
Almost all countries in the world register and protect trademarks. Each national or regional office maintains a Register of Trademarks which contains full application information on all registrations and renewals, facilitating examination, search, and potential opposition by third parties. The effects of such a registration are, however, limited to the country (or, in the case of a regional registration, countries) concerned.
In order to avoid the need to register separately with each national or regional office, WIPO administers a system of international registration of marks. This system is governed by two treaties, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Madrid Protocol. A person who has a link (through nationality, domicile or establishment) with a country party to one or both of these treaties may, on the basis of a registration or application with the trademark office of that country, obtain an international registration having effect in some or all of the other countries of the Madrid Union. At present, more than 60 countries are party to one or both of the agreements.

What is Intellectual Property?

What is Intellectual Property?
Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.
Intellectual property is divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs.