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Company & Commercial

The State Management and Planning Organization has issued new rules which aim to maximize the use of Iran's technical engineering and manufacturing resources in state projects. Iranian companies will be able to bid for contracts either alone or in a civil partnership with foreign companies.

The Guardian Council, Iran's upper legislative house, has rejected a bill that would improve the investment climate in Iran, claiming that it gave foreign investors "unfair advantages". The Parliament's reaction is now awaited.

Energy & Natural Resources

Overview
Including: Third Five-Year Plan; Executive Guidelines.

Japan and Iran have signed a contract on the development of the Azadegan oilfield which will guarantee the energy security of Japan for 20 years and inject about $1 billion into the Iranian economy. All products of the oilfield, worth $2.8 billion and with an estimated capacity of 36 billion barrels, will be exported to Japan.

The crude oil export objectives set out in the Third Development Plan have not been fully achieved during the first three years of implementation. According to a report on the plan's implementation, this was due to the irregular growth of domestic consumption, which curtailed exports, and the pursuit of OPEC policies on limited supplies of crude oil.

The project manager of Phase I of the South Pars project has reported that work is now back on schedule thanks to a concerted effort, and the project should become operational as planned. Work that has recently been completed includes the installation of two offshore wellhead platforms and the construction of production platforms.

Following the recent introduction of a new bill, consumers in Iran have been hit with a 10% price increase for a range of petroleum products, including ordinary petrol, super petrol and diesel.

A member of the Industries and Mines Committee of the Islamic Consultative Assembly has alleged that the oil export revenues forecasted in this year's Budget are unrealistic, and that the government's dependence on these revenues has caused state companies to become oil-dependent. Increasingly severe cutbacks may well be the end result.

Iran has declared itself ready to supply Europe with the energy it needs. The minister for oil has stated that a wide range of activities aimed at boosting gas production are set to emerge in order to meet increasing domestic, regional and global demand in the upstream and downstream gas sectors.

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Intellectual Property

Overview
Including: Legislative Framework; Trademarks; Patents; Anti-counterfeiting Measures

KIA Motors Co took cancellation action against an infringing trademark application filed by Roadstar Co for the trademark KIA. KIA Motors, in claiming ownership of the trademark, argued that Roadstar had applied for the same trademark, intending to exploit its fame. However, Roadstar denied any similarity, stating that the products covered by the two trademarks were different.

Renowned food company Société des Produits Nestlé SA recently requested the cancellation of an Iranian trademark application for the mark NIMO in Farsi, claiming that it was confusingly similar to its own NIDO trademark. While Nestlé was unsuccessful at first instance, the appellate court agreed with its arguments and cancelled the application.

Tescoma sro, a leading producer of domestic and professional kitchen utensils in the Czech Republic, has blocked registration of the mark TESCOMA-PRAKTIK. It successfully argued that the addition of the word 'praktik' did not make the mark distinctive from its own TESCOMA trademark and would confuse consumers as to the source of the goods.

The court has resolved a dispute over an Iranian trademark application for the Latin letter 'E' in red and white, covering goods in Classes 9 and 35. Energy International Company Limited successfully argued that the trademark was identical to its trademark previously registered in Class 35 and requested the addition of Class 9 to its own registration.

Rothmans of Pall Mall (Australia) Ltd, one of Australia's largest tobacco manufacturers and the producer of the prominent Winfield brand, has successfully blocked an application for registration of the BUSINESS ROYALS mark in Iran, on the grounds that it was deceptively similar to its own ROTHMANS ROYALS and ROTHMANS ROYAL trademarks.

Italian footwear company GEOX SpA opposed an application filed by an Iranian eyewear manufacturer to register the GEOX trademark in Iran. The court found that the mark belonged to the Italian company and was in prior use, and ordered that the application for registration be cancelled.

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