Intellectual Property Center (IPC): An Interview With Mohammad Ali Mirtaheri, Newly Appointed Head

October 2021

By Catherine Saez, WIPO

Newly appointed head of the Intellectual Property Center (IPC) Seyed Mohammad Ali Mirtaheri talks about the IPC and his vision for the years to come, the most innovative industries in Iran, and the cultural and economic importance of Persian carpets and their protection. He also presents new priorities and initiatives of the center.

WIPO: Can you introduce yourself, your background, and when you were elected President of the Intellectual Property Center (IPC)?

Seyed Mohammad Ali Mirtaheri: I am Seyed Mohammad Ali Mirtaheri. I was appointed as President of the IPC by Dr. Khodaeian, Deputy of Judiciary and Head of State Organization for Registration of Deeds and Properties on 1 May 2021. Before becoming the IPC President, I was responsible for the supervision and the audit of the IPC staff, and a member of the Trademark and Patent Oppositions Proceeding Commission.

I hold a Master’s degree in law from the University of Tehran, and I was the editor of the science service of a specialized legal journal.

Since 2015, I have participated in many intellectual property training courses at the international level, including advanced courses on patent and copyright organized by WIPO. I also took a training course on medical patents provided by the South Center and recently followed a general course on IP, and an e-tutorial on using patent information proposed by WIPO.

WIPO: Can you give an overview of the IPC, how many staff are now employed, and what are the IPC’s main functions?

The IPC is governed by the State Organization for the Registration of Deeds and Properties, under the supervision of the judiciary power.

The IPC now has about 130 staff, including experienced and educated examiners, and about 45 examiners in our branches in other cities working in five offices: The National Trademark and Geographical Indications (GI) Office; the International Trademark and GI (Madrid) Office; the National Patent Office; the International Patent Office (PCT); and the Industrial Designs Office. The IPC also includes an Opposition Commission Section.

The main function of the IPC is the protection and registration of industrial property; patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications. Other functions include assistance to commercialization, suggestion of IP law drafts, and assistance to SMEs. The IPC is also the official focal point for WIPO in Iran, under Art. 52 of the “Law on Patent, Industrial Design and Trademark Registration”, adopted in 2007.

WIPO: Iran is an active user of the IP system and a member of the Paris Convention, the Madrid Protocol, the Lisbon Agreement, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and the Nice and Locarno treaties. Is Iran planning to join more agreements, such as the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement?

As you noted, Iran acceded eight out of the 17 WIPO-administered treaties. The draft accession instruments for the Vienna and Strasbourg agreements as well as the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement have been submitted to the Parliament and are pending scrutiny and vote for approval.

By acceding those three instruments, Iran will be a contracting party of 11 WIPO treaties. Accession to The Hague agreement is also under consideration by the IPC.

WIPO: In the 2021 Global Innovation Index, Iran was amongst developing economies that performed above expectations on innovation relative to its level of development. What are the strongest innovative industries in Iran? Would you have some examples of recently patented inventions?

Iran jumped six places in the 2021 GII ranking compared to 2020 and became an innovation achiever for the first time ever, together with Brazil, and Peru. Iran is also amongst the middle-income economies hosting top Science and Technology clusters.

The most innovative industries in Iran are chemistry, medicine and pharmacy, and mechanics. Those industries make the most of international patent applications submitted to the IPC.

In addition, Iran is among the most significant and successful countries in the areas of nanotechnologies, robotics, and stem cell research. People from other countries now travel to Iran for treatment.

Some remarkable inventions based on new technology include a quick detection strip kit based on Chromatography and antigen detection using antibody through reaction with antibody marked by gold Nanoparticles. Another one is a molecular detection kit for COVID-19 using colorimetry and photometry. A company also recently filed a patent for the synthesis of Titanium Dioxide nanoparticle powder (TiO2) (Rutile phase using eclectic sol-gel and colloid method).

WIPO: Iran also has a strong carpet industry. Can you characterize this industry?

Hand-made carpet is an ancient heritage of Iranian culture, dating back to more than 2,400 years. In addition to its social and cultural background, this noble art is also considered as one of the most strategic products of the Iranian economy, along with others such as saffron and pistachio. Due to some specific characteristics, including its capacity to be promoted and developed with little capital, the hand-made carpet industry also ensures large-scale job creation. Persian carpets have unique aesthetic characteristics, and some of them are kept in famous museums around the world. 

Another important point about Persian carpets is that they are mostly woven by Iranian women of different ethnicities, highlighting the role of women in Iranian economic growth, attracting investment, creating jobs, and promoting gender equality.

Iranian hand-made carpets are woven in 14 main designs, each including some sub-patterns. The carpets’ designs are influenced by the region in which they are woven, the type of knots, the weaving method, and the colors used.

There is a high demand for Iranian hand-made carpets on the international market as their quality is recognized and their value rises with time and use. This is a unique characteristic because you cannot find any other product in the world whose worth will increase with time and use. The export volume of Persian carpets grew 17.2 percent from 2018 to 2019. In 2019, it represented about US$73 million.

About 1,200,000 persons are involved in carpet weaving and if we consider that each family is composed of three people, we can say that about 4,600,000 persons make a living from carpet weaving. The weavers of Persian carpets work both individually or join in cooperatives.

WIPO: What are the particular issues you are seeking to overcome in the carpet industry, and how do you protect and promote Iran’s handmade carpets?

To counter the illegal copying of Persian carpets, which in addition to economic loss, prevents the consumers from getting the original products, the IPC conducted many awareness-raising activities for hand-made carpet stakeholders to make them aware of the importance of protecting carpets with a geographical indication registration.  This initiative has led to the GI registration of 48 hand-made carpets at the national level, and 28 at the international level through the Lisbon System.

However, we are fully aware that registering a GI is only the first step in improving the value chain of a product and we started an Enabling Innovation Environment project for brands and designs in cooperation with WIPO to help establish a branding strategy for some Iran GI-related products. One of the products selected by the project experts was handmade carpets. Seminars and specialized training were conducted on branding and led to the registration at the IPC of the collective mark “Ehsan” for hand-made carpet stakeholders of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation and the Certification mark “Carpet of Persia (COP)” for the hand-made carpet stakeholders of Iran National Carpet Center.

WIPO: What is your vision for the IPC in the coming years? What changes would you like to impart and what aspects of the IPC’s work would you like to highlight?

We have many plans and programs for improving the functioning of the IPC. We proposed the creation of the Strategic Council of Intellectual Property to harmonize and integrate the functions of IP-related authorities in the country. The proposal was confirmed by Dr. Khodaeian, Deputy and Spokesperson of Judiciary and the Head of Organization.

The Council will provide training for IP managers, to help them manage their organization better and it will promote the IPC IP focal point role in Iran.

We are also going to improve the quality of examinations, specifically in the area of trademark. For this purpose, we have established working groups to review and revise the examination procedures and develop a new examination guideline for trademark examiners.

Special attention has also been paid to SMEs and producers. We are trying to evaluate the challenges met by applicants and find the best solution to provide special services to producers and businesses in the shortest possible time. We are now providing some special services to SMEs including facilitating their registration process and will develop these services in the future.

Another priority of IPC is to create relationships with local IP-related authorities, including the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, the Food and Drug Administration of Iran, and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and Iranian National Tax Administration. This will both improve services provided by IPC and facilitate IP enforcement through cooperation with IP enforcement authorities like customs, the police, and the Court.

The other priority is public awareness and building respect for IP, which improves protection and acts as a deterrent for IP infringement. In this regard, we are going to hold yearly events and campaigns on IP awareness and respect for IP on IP Day.

In line with the policies outlined by Mr. Tang regarding the importance of IP for youth, we also are negotiating with the Ministry of Education to include IP content in textbooks. A working group gathering representatives of the IPC and the Ministry of Education is discussing the possibility of such inclusion of IP in school curriculums. Raising the awareness of children about IP will lead to a reduction of infringement, as they will be more IP-conscious when they grow up. IP knowledge can also help them in their future business endeavors.

Following a meeting of the IPC High-Level Council of State Organization for Registration of Deeds and Properties, the IPC has started implementing some new measures. One of them is the establishment of IPC branches in all other provinces. Another measure is the swift examination of more than 96 percent of the pending trademark applications. The IPC is also linking to local authorities who are responsible for issuing business licenses, permits, etc. To make sure that the applicants are real producers, the IPC has also launched a digital searching tool for trademark, patent, and industrial designs, as well as established an IP training center.

We organize weekly meetings with applicants and clients to consider their requests and problems. Since the establishment of those meetings, some 512 persons could meet with me and explain their requests. Finally, the IPC is considering the establishment of IP counters in professional environments, such as technology parks, to offer IP services. Some other measures include upgrading IPC software tools, creating working groups on Trademark, legal affairs and IT.