IP in IranPCT national phase
Patents · PCT National Phase

PCT national phase entry in Iran

Your PCT application designated Iran and the national phase deadline is approaching. This page sets out the deadline you are working against, the translation and documents Iran requires, and how we file the entry and carry it through examination.

National phase deadline
30 monthsfrom the priority date — no late entry
Language
Farsifull specification translated
Representation
Local agentlegalised power of attorney
Patent term
20 yearsfrom the international filing date
Key deadlines · foreign applicants

The two clocks that decide the route

The 30-month deadline is the date that matters. Iran does not restore a national phase entry made late — file in time and your PCT application proceeds to examination on the merits.

Your PCT application designated Iran
30months

To enter the national phase

A PCT application that designated Iran must enter the Iranian national phase within 30 months of the priority date — under both Chapter I and Chapter II.

Miss it and the application cannot be brought into Iran: there is no late entry and no restoration.

If there is no PCT application
12months

To file directly under Paris

Without a PCT filing, you can still protect the invention in Iran by filing directly under the Paris Convention within 12 months of the priority date.

After 12 months the PCT national phase is the only route in — we advise on which applies to the case.

Entering the national phase in Iran

Iran has been a PCT contracting state since 2013. A PCT application that designated Iran must enter the Iranian national phase within 30 months of the priority date, under both Chapter I and Chapter II. Once entered, the application is examined on the same substantive grounds as a national filing: a formal examination, followed by a mandatory substantive examination carried out through a designated research institution or university.

The entry must be made through a registered Iranian patent agent — a foreign applicant cannot file directly, and foreign counsel cannot appear before the office. The patent provisions are set out in the Inventions chapter of the Industrial Property Act, which we publish in English.

How we handle your entry

Deadline check and instructions

We confirm the priority date and the 30-month deadline, review the application, and send a fixed fee for the entry — usually within 1–2 working days.

30-month deadline, from the priority date

Translation

We prepare the Farsi translation of the specification — description, claims, text in the drawings and abstract — to the standard the examiner expects. It is the main variable in cost and time, so we begin it early.

Power of attorney and filing

You execute and legalise our POA; we file the entry with the translation and pay the official fee. The POA can follow within the office’s short compliance window, so it never holds up the deadline.

Examination and grant

The office runs the formal and substantive examination. We answer office actions and report on prospects and cost before each step, through to grant.

What we need from you

The PCT application number and priority date
A copy of the published PCT application, with any Article 19 / 34 amendments
The priority document, if not already in the PCT file
Executed and legalised power of attorney
Inventor name and address, and applicant entitlement details
Any earlier search or examination reports

Costs

We quote a fixed professional fee after reviewing the application. The total has three parts: our fee, the official fees, and translation — which, for patents, is usually the largest single component and depends on the length of the specification. Your estimate itemises each, so the full cost is known before you instruct us.

Annuities run from the international filing date, so any that fell due before entry are payable on entry; we set these out in the estimate. There are no undisclosed charges, and the assessment itself is free.

Common questions

What is the deadline to enter the national phase in Iran?

Thirty months from the priority date, for both Chapter I and Chapter II. This is confirmed by WIPO’s PCT Applicant’s Guide for Iran.

What if the 30-month deadline has already passed?

Iran does not provide for late entry or restoration of the national phase, so a PCT application generally cannot be brought into Iran after the deadline. If any route remains open on the facts, we say so plainly.

Does the whole application need to be translated?

Yes. The description, the claims, the text in the drawings and the abstract must be translated into Farsi.

Is substantive examination compulsory?

Yes. After a formal check, the application undergoes a mandatory substantive examination. We handle the office actions that arise.

How long is a patent, and how are annuities paid?

Twenty years from the international filing date. Annuities accrue from that date and are paid annually, with a grace period for late payment on surcharge.

Deadline approaching?

Send us the PCT number — we reply with a view and a fixed fee.

1 · Fee estimate

Free assessment

Email the PCT number and priority date and we respond within 1–2 working days with a fixed quote.

Email the PCT number
2 · Documents

POA template

Ask us for the POA and step-by-step legalisation instructions, ready for execution.

Request the template
3 · Instruct us

Ready to proceed

Instruct HENGAM directly and we docket the deadline and begin the translation the same day.

Instruct HENGAM