In intellectual property law, exclusive rights are granted to encourage innovation, investment, and commercial development. These protections apply to inventors, authors, industrial designers, and trademark owners, with the broader goal of promoting economic growth and fair competition. Among these rights, trademarks hold particular importance in the commercial marketplace. A trademark distinguishes the goods or services of one business from those of another and enables consumers to identify the source of products and services. For this reason, the owner of a registered trademark enjoys the exclusive right to use that mark in connection with the registered goods or services.

However, trademark rights are not unconditional. Trademark protection is based on the principle that a registered mark should be genuinely used in commerce. When a trademark is registered but never used, it may unfairly prevent others from using or registering the same or a similar mark. As a result, unused trademarks can create unjustified monopolies and interfere with healthy market competition.

To address this issue, many legal systems — including Iran’s — allow trademarks to be cancelled if they are not used for a specified period of time.

What Is Trademark Non-Use?

One of the legal grounds for cancelling a trademark registration is non-use of the trademark. In some cases, a person or company registers a trademark but does not actually use it in the marketplace. This may prevent other businesses from registering or using that mark despite the absence of any real commercial activity by the trademark owner.

To prevent such situations, the law permits interested parties to file a trademark cancellation action based on non-use. According to Article 120 of Iran’s Industrial Property Protection Act (2024):

If an interested party proves that the owner of a registered trademark, either personally or through an authorized person, has not used the trademark for at least three consecutive years from the registration date up to one month before the filing of the lawsuit, the interested party may request cancellation of the trademark registration before the competent judicial authority, unless the trademark owner proves that the non-use resulted from force majeure circumstances.

If the court issues a final judgment ordering cancellation, the effect of the cancellation applies from the date of the final judgment, and the cancellation notice will be officially published. Accordingly, the trademark remains legally valid until the judgment becomes final. After that point, the trademark owner loses the exclusive legal protection granted to the mark.

What Constitutes “Use” of a Trademark?

In trademark non-use disputes, one of the most important issues is determining what type of use is legally sufficient to preserve trademark rights. Not every use qualifies as valid trademark use. The use must be genuine, commercial, and connected to the goods or services for which the trademark is registered. Merely symbolic or token use intended only to preserve ownership rights may not be sufficient.

In practice, trademark use may include:

  • Placing the trademark on products or packaging
  • Using the trademark in advertisements, catalogues, or marketing materials
  • Using the trademark in sales contracts or service agreements
  • Displaying the trademark on an official website or business platform
  • Including the trademark on invoices, receipts, or commercial documents

The court will typically evaluate whether the use demonstrates real commercial activity in the marketplace.

Force Majeure as a Defense Against Cancellation

A trademark owner may defend against a non-use cancellation claim by proving that the failure to use the trademark resulted from force majeure circumstances. Force majeure generally refers to extraordinary events that are beyond a person’s control, unforeseeable, and unavoidable. Examples may include:

  • Natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods
  • War, armed conflict, or widespread political instability
  • International sanctions or government restrictions

If the trademark owner successfully proves that such circumstances prevented the use of the trademark, the court may reject the cancellation claim.

Required Period of Non-Use

Under Article 120 of the Industrial Property Protection Act, a trademark may be cancelled only if it has not been used for at least three consecutive years. The non-use period must be continuous and uninterrupted. Therefore, even limited but genuine commercial use during this period may interrupt the calculation of non-use.

For example, if a trademark owner does not use the trademark for one year, resumes genuine use for six months, and then stops using it again for two additional years, the requirement of three consecutive years of non-use is not satisfied. Although the total period of inactivity exceeds three years, the interruption caused by actual use prevents cancellation on this ground.

It is worth noting that some jurisdictions, including France and Italy, require five consecutive years of non-use rather than three.

Who May File a Cancellation Action?

A trademark cancellation action based on non-use may be filed by any person with a legitimate legal or commercial interest in the matter.

Interested parties may include:

  • Competitors seeking to register a similar trademark
  • Businesses intending to use the mark in commerce
  • Individuals or companies whose commercial activities are restricted by the unused registration

For example, a company wishing to register a trademark may discover that the same mark has already been registered by another party but has remained unused for several years. In such a situation, the company may first seek cancellation of the earlier registration before applying to register the mark itself.

Burden of Proof in Non-Use Cases

As a general legal principle, the claimant bears the burden of proof. However, in practice, Iranian courts often require the trademark owner to provide evidence demonstrating genuine use of the trademark.

Accordingly, in many trademark non-use disputes, the trademark owner is expected to submit documents and evidence showing actual commercial use of the mark. Such evidence may include invoices, advertising materials, contracts, packaging samples, import or export records, or other business documents.

Re-Registration After Trademark Cancellation

If a trademark is cancelled due to non-use, there is generally no legal obstacle preventing another party from registering the same trademark afterward.

This approach is based on the assumption that an unused trademark has not established significant recognition among consumers. Therefore, allowing re-registration is unlikely to create confusion in the marketplace.

This situation differs from cases involving cancellation for other reasons or failure to renew a trademark registration, where the mark may still retain commercial reputation or consumer recognition. In such cases, re-registration may raise concerns regarding deception or consumer confusion.

 

Conclusion

Trademark cancellation due to non-use is an important legal mechanism designed to prevent unjustified monopolies and promote fair competition in the marketplace.

Under Iranian law, cancellation generally requires proof that the trademark has not been genuinely used for at least three consecutive years without valid justification. At the same time, trademark owners retain the right to defend themselves by demonstrating actual commercial use or by proving that force majeure circumstances prevented such use.

Because trademark non-use disputes often involve detailed factual and evidentiary issues, obtaining advice from a lawyer experienced in intellectual property law can be essential for protecting commercial rights and successfully pursuing or defending a cancellation claim.