Section 18A is three subsections long and it does all the work. Classification is set by Gazette notification, a separate application is needed for each category, and a mark registered in one category may be registered in another if it falls there.
What makes the class decision weightier in Nepal than elsewhere is not the fee structure. It is section 18C.
Quick reference
| Classification | Set by the Government of Nepal, by notification in the Nepal Gazette |
| Applications | A separate application for each category |
| Adding a category later | Permitted where the mark falls there |
| Each registration | Its own fees, its own seven-year term, its own renewal |
| Each registration | Its own exposure to the one-year use rule |
What section 18A says
18A(1): for the purpose of registering trademarks related to any goods or services, the Government of Nepal may classify such goods or services by a notification in the Nepal Gazette.
18A(2): a separate application shall be submitted to register trademarks of goods or services placed in different categories.
18A(3): a trademark registered for goods or services in one category may be registered for goods or services under another category if it so falls.
The provision was inserted by the first amendment in 1987 — it is not in the Act as originally enacted — which is why the drafting is shorter than the classification provisions in neighbouring statutes.
No multi-class application
The consequences are the standard ones, with one Nepali twist.
Fees multiply by class, at both the application and the registration stage. See trademark fees in Nepal.
Renewals multiply. Each registration runs seven years from its own date of registration, and each has to be renewed within 35 days of its own expiry. Classes filed months apart renew months apart. See trademark renewal in Nepal.
A loss in one class does not take the others. Each registration stands separately, which cuts both ways.
The twist: one year of use, per registration
This is why class selection matters more in Nepal than in a jurisdiction where an unused class is merely wasted money.
Section 18C: where a trademark registered at the Department is not brought into use within one year from the date of registration, the Department shall conduct necessary inquiries and cancel such registration.
Each class is a separate registration, so each one carries that obligation independently. A brand that registers in four categories and launches in two has, on the face of the statute, two registrations exposed to cancellation within a year.
That changes the calculation. In most of the region, filing defensively across classes costs money and creates some non-use risk after five years. In Nepal the statute puts the clock at one year and frames cancellation as a duty.
The practical approach follows: file in the categories you will actually be using within the year, and add others under section 18A(3) when the business reaches them, rather than filing the full programme at the outset.
See trademark cancellation in Nepal.
Adding a category later
Section 18A(3) expressly permits it: a mark registered for goods or services in one category may be registered for goods or services under another category if it so falls.
So the staged approach is contemplated by the Act rather than being a workaround. The later application is a fresh application with its own date, its own term and its own one-year clock — which is exactly the point, because the clock then starts when the business is ready for it.
The cost of staging is the gap. Between the first filing and the later one, the mark is unregistered in those categories, and section 21B means a foreign registration gives you nothing there. Where a category is genuinely imminent, file it; where it is aspirational, wait.
Which classification
The Act leaves the classification itself to notification in the Nepal Gazette rather than setting it out in a schedule. In practice Nepali classification follows the international system, but the operative source is the notification rather than the Act, and the specification should be drafted against the Department’s current practice.
Since the Act is silent on who resolves a classification dispute and on the procedure for doing so, that is one of the points worth settling with the Department or local counsel at the time of filing rather than assuming.
Drafting the specification
Three rules for Nepal:
Claim what will be used within a year. Section 18C is the governing constraint, and it applies per registration.
Keep the specification tied to the actual business. The Department investigates applications under section 18(1) and may refuse on the proviso grounds, and a specification that does not match the applicant’s business is harder to defend at every later stage.
Stage the rest. Section 18A(3) exists for exactly this, and a later application starting a fresh one-year clock is usually better than an early one running out.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file one trademark application for several classes in Nepal? No. Section 18A(2) requires a separate application for goods or services placed in different categories.
What classification does Nepal use? Classification is made by the Government of Nepal by notification in the Nepal Gazette rather than being set out in the Act, so the current notification and Departmental practice are the operative sources.
Can I add a class to an existing registration? Not to the existing registration. A mark registered in one category may be registered for another category where it falls there, which is a separate application and a separate registration.
Does each class have its own renewal date? Yes. Each registration runs seven years from its own date of registration and is renewed on its own cycle.
Why does the number of classes matter more in Nepal? Because section 18C requires the Department to cancel a registration where the mark is not brought into use within one year of registration, and each class is a separate registration carrying that obligation independently.
Should I file defensively across classes? Rarely, on the face of the statute. A registration in a category you will not be trading in within a year is exposed to cancellation under section 18C. Staging the filings as the business reaches each category is usually the better approach.
Useful official resources
- Department of Industry, Nepal
- Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act, 2022 (1965) — sections 18, 18A, 18C, 18D
- Nepal Law Commission
See our related notes on filing a trademark in Nepal, trademark cancellation and trademark renewal.
Deciding how many Nepali applications a brand actually needs? Talk to us.