Offenses and penalties

The commission of any of the following acts constitutes an offense, and the perpetrator shall, in addition to compensating the damage and confiscation of the property and proceeds derived from the offense, be sentenced to a fifth-degree cash fine (ta'zir) or a cash fine equal to twice the damage caused, whichever is greater:

1. 1.Any unauthorized exploitation that, as the case may be, constitutes infringement of economic rights after the registration of a patent, industrial design, or utility model in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
2. 2.Any unauthorized exploitation and use of a trade name, trademark, collective mark, or certification mark contrary to the provisions of this Act, in a manner that is of a nature to mislead the public;
3. 3.Acquiring or disclosing trade secrets belonging to another without their consent, or contrary to Articles 123 and 126 of this Act;
4. 4.The commission of acts that, under this Act, constitute unfair competition.

Note 1 — The commission of an act that, under the provisions of this Act, constitutes infringement of moral rights carries a sixth-degree cash fine.

Note 2 — The commission of the offense referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article in cyberspace carries, in addition to the punishment prescribed in this Article, a sixth-degree imprisonment.

Note 3 — The offenses referred to in this Article, except for paragraph 2, are offenses subject to private pardon (qabel-e gozasht); and upon the pardon of the complainant or their request to discontinue prosecution, the attached property shall be released from attachment, unless the parties have settled otherwise.

Note 4 — Where the perpetrator's inability to pay the cash fine is established, Articles 529, 530, 531, and 533 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (adopted 23 February 2014 / 4/12/1392) apply.

Note 5 — In all the offenses referred to in this Article, except for paragraph 2, where the other legally prescribed conditions for issuing an order suspending prosecution, an order postponing judgment, or suspension of punishment exist, the judicial authority may, in addition to the orders provided for in the relevant statutory provisions, sentence the perpetrator to carry out one to three of the following orders:

(a) Attending classes, conferences, or training courses on intellectual property for a maximum of two hundred hours within two years; (b) Employing, for one year, a maximum of three persons whose names are entered as inventor or industrial designer in a patent or industrial design certificate, within six months; (c) Producing or financing the production of a video clip or instructional video program to promote a culture of respect for intellectual property rights, and arranging for its broadcast through the national broadcaster, within one year; (d) Arranging for the export of one of the domestically produced products of registered knowledge-based companies, within six months to one year; (e) Publishing an apology to the complainant in the publications of the relevant guild, in local publications, or in widely circulated publications at their own expense — especially in cases of infringement of the moral rights referred to in this Act — within three months; (f) Ceasing the manufacture, importation, supply, or advertising of items infringing the complainant's mark protected under this Act, and voluntarily delivering the production mold and the said items to the complainant, or destroying them where necessary and where it does not amount to prohibited waste (esraf), in the complainant's presence, within one month; (g) Collecting from the market all the products they have supplied that infringe the rights protected under this Act, and voluntarily delivering the said products to the complainant, or returning or erasing the infringing matter, and — where not possible — destroying them where necessary and where it does not amount to prohibited waste, at their own expense, within two months.

Note 6 — Where the party alleging infringement, by means of a formal notice (official notification), warns the infringer that their activity constitutes infringement of their rights and demands the immediate cessation of the infringing activity, and the infringer nevertheless continues their activity, then, upon establishment of the infringement, they shall be sentenced to pay a penalty equal to three times the damage caused, from the date of notification of the formal notice until the issuance of the judgment. The rule of this Note does not apply where the subject of the invention is a process, or where the patent holder has not produced and sold the subject of the invention.