Trademark Cancellation for Non-Use Under Iranian Law: A Guide for Foreign Rights Holders
By Ehsan Minaeifard
For international businesses and brand owners, Iran’s trademark regime contains a mechanism that cuts both ways and is worth understanding before entering—or after entering—the Iranian market: the cancellation of a registered trademark on the grounds that it has not been used. It matters not only if you are seeking to clear an unused mark held by someone else, but also if you already hold registrations in Iran that you are not actively exploiting. Iran recently overhauled this area through the Industrial Property Protection Act, enacted in the Iranian calendar year 1403 (corresponding to 2024). The following note explains how the mechanism works for those approaching it from outside the Iranian legal system.
The underlying principle
Like many jurisdictions, Iranian law treats a trademark as a right that must be exercised, not merely held. The rationale will be familiar to practitioners elsewhere: registration is meant to protect marks that are genuinely in commercial use, not to allow a registrant to “warehouse” a valuable mark indefinitely and block legitimate competitors from entering the market. Where a mark sits unused, Iranian law provides a route to remove it from the register and free it for others.
The three-year non-use requirement
The central provision is Article 110 of the Act. An interested party may seek cancellation if it can prove that the owner of a registered mark has not used it—either personally or through an authorized party acting on the owner’s behalf—whether wholly or in part, for a continuous period of at least three full years. The relevant window is measured from the date of registration up to one month before the date the cancellation request is filed.
In practical terms for a foreign client: if a mark you wish to use in Iran appears on the register but cannot be found in the actual marketplace, and three years have elapsed, the path to challenging it may be open.
A two-way risk: if you hold an unused mark in Iran
This is the point foreign clients most often overlook. The same provision that lets you clear someone else’s idle mark can be used against you. If your company holds one or more Iranian trademark registrations that you are not genuinely using in the market—for example, defensive registrations, marks held for a product launch that never materialized, or brands parked for future use—you are exposed to a non-use cancellation action brought by a competitor or any other interested party once three years of non-use have elapsed. Foreign rights holders are therefore advised to audit their Iranian portfolio, document any genuine commercial use, and be deliberate about marks they are merely holding rather than exploiting.
The force majeure exception
This is not an automatic outcome, in either direction. A registrant can defeat a cancellation action by demonstrating that force majeure—circumstances genuinely beyond its control—prevented use of the mark. Events such as war or a pandemic are the kinds of circumstances that may render the non-use justified. So if your own Iranian mark is challenged, a legitimate external obstacle to use may protect it; and conversely, if you are the one challenging another party’s mark, you should anticipate that the registrant may raise such a defense.
Who qualifies as an “interested party”
Standing to bring the action is limited to an “interested party.” Under Iranian law this category is broader than it may first appear: alongside parties who would be considered interested under the Civil Procedure Code, it expressly includes governmental bodies responsible for quality control of goods and services, and trade or industry associations active in the relevant field. For a foreign company intending to operate in a sector where an unused mark is registered, this generally means you would qualify as an interested party with standing to act—just as a competitor in your sector may qualify to act against your own unused mark.
When cancellation takes effect
A feature that often surprises those used to other systems concerns timing. In a non-use cancellation, the effect runs from the date of the final judgment—not retroactively to the original registration date. The mark is therefore treated as valid up to the moment the final ruling is issued. This differs from certain other grounds of cancellation and has practical consequences for any dispute over the intervening period.
Forum
These matters are heard by specialized branches of the Iranian courts dedicated to intellectual property.
Key takeaways for international clients
Iran’s non-use mechanism is an opportunity and a liability at once. If a brand you are interested in has been registered in Iran by another party but remains unused, the law offers a viable route to clear it. Equally, if you hold Iranian registrations you are not using, you should treat them as vulnerable. The essential points to remember are: a minimum of three years of non-use, the need to establish standing as an interested party, the possibility of a force majeure defense, and the importance of maintaining evidence of genuine use for your own marks. Because these actions turn on proving (or disproving) a negative—that a mark has not been used—and because the procedure is technical, foreign rights holders are strongly advised to engage Iranian counsel specializing in intellectual property, whether they are pursuing a cancellation or defending against one.
