On November 6, 2013 the Iranian Intellectual Property Office (IIPO) published an amendment to the article relating to patent examination of its Executive by-laws of the Law of Patents, Industrial Designs and Trademark Registration. In a recent article, we discussed certain changes at both the Algerian Patent Office and the IIPO (https://www.sabaip.com/NewsArtDetails.aspx?ID=1128). Both offices have started requesting further documents in preparation or in support of performing substantive examination.
According to amendment no. 100/43368/9000 dated November 3, 2013, Article 28 of the Executive by-laws has been amended to describe the new process for the examination of patent applications. In brief, the IIPO will first perform examination on formal grounds. Upon satisfaction, the IIPO will forward the matter on to the competent authority for substantive examination. It is worth noting here that the said competent authority refers to technical institutions across Iran, and most importantly, the amendment specifies that the said authority will ensure the confidentiality of the documents it receives. The said authority then will examine the application and provide its opinion based on which the IIPO will issue its decision.
