A right is only as strong as the means to enforce it. Iran’s 2024 Industrial Property Act gives holders of patents, designs, marks, and trade secrets a full toolkit for enforcing IP rights in Iran: civil remedies, criminal penalties, and a specialist court to hear them. This guide brings those enforcement provisions together, whichever right has been infringed.
In short: under the Act, a rights holder can move on three fronts at once — civil, criminal, and injunctive — through a dedicated intellectual property court in Tehran.
- Civil remedies — full damages, plus interim injunctions and customs seizure to stop infringement quickly (Articles 72–73).
- Criminal penalties — fines, forfeiture, and, in some cases, imprisonment; companies are liable too (Articles 131–132).
- Unfair competition — six prohibited practices, actionable even without a registered right (Article 129).
- Specialist forum — a dedicated IP court and prosecutor in Tehran, with arbitration available for most disputes (Article 143).
What counts as IP infringement in Iran
Each right has its own definition of infringement, but the enforcement machinery that follows is largely shared. For patents, infringement is any act that prejudices the holder’s exclusive rights after the invention’s registration date. Acts allowed under the statutory exceptions do not count (Article 70). For trademarks, it is the unauthorised use of the mark, or of a confusingly similar mark that harms the owner (Article 108).
Civil remedies: damages, seizure and injunctions
To begin with, a rights holder can recover the full damage caused by infringement, including lost profits (Article 72).
Just as important is the ability to act quickly. At any stage of civil or criminal proceedings, the objecting party can ask the court for security, for seizure of the infringing products, and for an interim injunction against their manufacture, sale, or importation (Article 73). Where the goods sit at customs, customs or judicial officers enforce the order. This is a practical route for stopping infringing imports at the border, before they reach the market. These remedies apply across the Act, so they extend to designs, marks, and trade secrets as well as patents.
Process patents raise a special difficulty, because a hidden process is hard to prove. Article 71 helps by shifting the burden. Where there is cogent evidence that a product was likely made by a patented process, and the real process cannot be established, the defendant must prove that it was not.
Criminal penalties for IP infringement
Infringement can be a crime as well as a civil wrong. Under Article 131, an offender must compensate the damage and forfeit the property and proceeds of the offence. On top of that, the offender faces a fifth-degree cash fine, or a fine equal to twice the damage caused, whichever is greater.
The provision then adds sharper edges for particular cases:
- infringement of moral rights carries a sixth-degree fine;
- a trademark offence committed in cyberspace adds a term of imprisonment;
- an infringer who continues after a formal warning can be ordered to pay three times the damage.
Companies are not beyond reach either. Under Article 132, a legal person that commits these offences is punished under the Islamic Penal Code. A complainant can claim the damage from the company, which may in turn recover from the individual at fault.
Unfair competition
The Act also tackles unfair market conduct directly, beyond the registered rights. Article 129 lists six kinds of unfair competition:
- false statements that damage a competitor;
- creating a confusing resemblance to a competitor’s goods;
- false or misleading advertising;
- misleading comparative advertising;
- advertising that fails to distinguish original goods from lower-quality licensed goods;
- price collusion aimed at eliminating competitors.
This gives businesses a route to challenge dishonest competition even where no patent, mark, or design has been infringed.
The specialist IP court in Tehran
Finally, enforcement now has a dedicated forum. Under Article 143, disputes arising from the Act fall to the branches of the Special Intellectual Property Judicial Complex in Tehran, supported by a dedicated prosecutor’s office for offences under the Act. Its judges must have relevant knowledge of intellectual property law. Parties may also refer a dispute to arbitration — unless it concerns the validity of the rights themselves, which stays with the court.
Putting it together
The practical strength of the Act is that a rights holder can move on several fronts at once. An interim injunction and customs seizure stop the harm immediately, a civil claim recovers full damages, and — where the conduct is serious — a criminal complaint raises the stakes. A concentrated specialist court and prosecutor’s office in Tehran make that combination more coherent than under the old law. For the rights themselves, see our companion guides on patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, and trade secrets.
Frequently asked questions
How are IP rights enforced in Iran?
Under Iran’s 2024 Industrial Property Act, a rights holder can enforce IP rights through three routes: civil claims for damages, interim injunctions and customs seizure to stop infringement, and criminal complaints for serious cases. Most disputes are heard by a specialist IP court in Tehran.
What damages can you claim for IP infringement in Iran?
Article 72 allows recovery of the full damage caused by the infringement, including lost profits. Where an infringer continues after a formal warning, Article 131 allows an order to pay up to three times the damage.
Are there criminal penalties for IP infringement in Iran?
Yes. Under Article 131, an offender must compensate the damage, forfeit the proceeds of the offence, and pay a fifth-degree fine or twice the damage, whichever is greater. Trademark offences committed online can also carry imprisonment, and under Article 132 companies can be held liable.
Can you stop infringing imports at Iranian customs?
Yes. Under Article 73, a court can order seizure of infringing goods and an interim injunction against their importation. Where the goods are at the border, customs or judicial officers enforce the order before the goods reach the market.
Which court handles IP disputes in Iran?
Article 143 assigns disputes under the Act to the Special Intellectual Property Judicial Complex in Tehran, with a dedicated prosecutor’s office. Judges must have relevant IP knowledge. Parties may choose arbitration, except on questions about the validity of the rights themselves.
This is general information on the Industrial Property Act, not legal advice. For a specific matter, speak with HENGAM’s litigation team.
Shahnoosh Haeri
Shahnoosh represents rights holders in patent, trademark, and corporate disputes — from cancellation and infringement actions to enforcement before Iran's specialist courts, backed by hands-on patent and utility-model expertise.