Entitled Persons to Claim Patent Invalidation

Recognition of competent persons to initiate a claim regarding declaration of nullity of patent certificates is one of the most important and challenging issues in patent law. Two main questions may arise in this regard: The first question is who may be considered as a beneficiary in these lawsuits. The second question is whether it is necessary to establish the fact that a party is a beneficiary in order for him to file such lawsuits.According to the express wording of Article 18 of the Registration of Patent, Industrial Design and Trademark Act, approved in 2007, beneficiaries are allowed to file a lawsuit for declaration of nullity.In this regard, an in-depth analysis of the issue shows that the concept of the beneficiary in the lawsuit for declaration of nullity of the patent certificate is a broader concept than that of the beneficiary in the civil procedure;Since the benefit that is the basis of the filing of a lawsuit regarding the declaration of nullity of the patent certificate is not necessarily a private one, but that it may include a public benefit as well.Therefore, non-governmental organizations and consumers, subject to the establishment of a rational and logic benefit, may be considered as the beneficiaries of a lawsuit regarding the declaration of nullity of the patent certificate.Also, in some legal systems, all persons, even non-beneficiaries, have the authority to intiate this claim.In this article, we show that taking into account the necessities of patent rights, adopting such an approach is not recommended and acceptable.