Trademark registration in Iran
Iran is a first-to-file jurisdiction: rights follow the register, not the market. This page sets out what a national filing requires under the 2024 Industrial Property Protection Act, the documents we need from you, and the two statutory deadlines that decide whether a mark survives.
The two clocks you cannot miss
Iran runs on strict statutory deadlines. For foreign owners, two of them decide whether a mark survives — and both are short. We docket and act on each one for you.
To appeal the refusal
A foreign applicant has 60 days from the Iranian IP Office’s refusal to file a reasoned appeal to the Appeal Board. We prepare and file the response.
Let it lapse and the refusal becomes final.
The opposition window
For 30 days after publication in the Official Gazette a third party may oppose your mark — the same window in which we oppose marks that conflict with yours.
After 30 days with no opposition, the mark proceeds to registration.
What the law requires
Applications are filed in Persian with the Iranian IP Office and must contain a specimen of the mark, a complete description, and the list of goods or services under the international classification. The applicant also files proof of identity and an undertaking to use the mark; where priority is claimed, the priority document follows within one month of filing. One application may cover several international classes.
The office refuses marks that fall within the statutory grounds — among them signs that are not distinctive, that mislead the public, or that conflict with earlier or well-known marks in Iran. The full text is in Chapter Four of the Industrial Property Protection Act, which we publish in English.
What we need from you
Scanned copies are enough to begin: we prepare the application while the legalised originals travel to our Tehran office by courier. Note that an apostille is not sufficient for Iran — documents must be legalised by an Iranian Consulate — and courier services to Iran are limited, so allow lead time for the originals.
How the filing runs
Search and assessment
We search the Iranian register for conflicting marks and give you a written view of the prospects, with an itemised fixed fee for the filing — within one business day.
Specification in Persian
We check every goods or services term against the Iranian office database and, where an exact term is not recognised, propose the closest approved equivalent — confirmed with you before anything is filed.
Power of attorney and documents
We send you the POA template and step-by-step legalisation instructions. This runs in parallel with the drafting — scans start the work, and the originals follow.
Filing and examination
We file the application and the office examines it within three months. If the office refuses the mark, a foreign applicant has 60 days to appeal to the Appeal Board — we prepare the response; an accepted application is published within a week.
60-day appeal window on a refusalPublication, opposition, and certificate
Third parties may oppose within 30 days of publication — we respond if anyone does. Once acceptance is final, we pay the registration fee within the one-month statutory window, the certificate issues, and the registration is published.
30-day opposition window from publicationAfter registration
The certificate runs for ten years from the filing date and renews for further ten-year periods; renewal falls due in the six months before expiry, with a six-month grace period at a doubled fee. Iranian law also expects the mark to be worked: the applicant undertakes to use it, and a mark left unused becomes vulnerable to cancellation. We docket every renewal and advise on keeping the registration defensible — registration is the start of the work, not the end of it.
Costs
We work on fixed fees, quoted before you instruct us. Your estimate itemises every component — official fees, translation and legalisation, and our professional fee — so the full cost of the filing is known in advance. There are no undisclosed charges, and the initial search and assessment is free.
Payment from abroad is workable and routine; we set out the mechanics when we send you the power of attorney.
Common questions
What are the deadlines if my mark is refused or opposed?
Two clocks matter. If the Iranian IP Office refuses the mark, a foreign applicant has 60 days to appeal to the Appeal Board. Separately, once a mark is published, third parties have 30 days to file an opposition — the same window we use to oppose marks that conflict with yours. We docket and act on both.
Can I file directly, without an Iranian agent?
Foreign applicants file through a local agent under a power of attorney notarised and legalised by an Iranian Consulate. Iran is not party to the Apostille Convention, so an apostille alone is not accepted.
Can one application cover several classes?
Yes. A single application may cover goods and services in several international classes, on payment of the fee for each class. Registering several marks, however, requires a separate application for each mark.
Should I file nationally or designate Iran through Madrid?
Iran is a Madrid Protocol member, so both routes work. A national filing gives you a Persian specification drafted for the Iranian examiner from the outset; a Madrid designation is convenient across many countries but is examined in Iran on the same grounds. We advise on the better route for your portfolio — and we respond to provisional refusals when a designation meets one.
Do I have to use the mark once it is registered?
Yes. The applicant undertakes to use the mark, and a registration left unused is vulnerable — a mark not used for three consecutive years can be cancelled at a third party’s request. We monitor and document use so the registration stays defensible.
Send us the mark and the goods list — we reply with a view and a fixed fee.
Free assessment
Email the mark and the goods or services you sell — we reply within one business day with a search-based view and an itemised fixed quote.
Email the markPOA pack
Ask us for the power-of-attorney template and step-by-step legalisation instructions, ready for execution.
Request the packReady to file
Instruct HENGAM directly and we open the file and begin the search the same day.
Instruct HENGAM