Nepal protects trademarks under the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act, 2022 (1965), administered by the Department of Industry. It is a short statute — patents, designs and trademarks share about thirty sections between them — and it has been amended twice, in 1987 and in 2006.
The brevity matters when you are planning. A good deal of Nepali trademark practice sits in the Department’s own procedure rather than in the Act, so the sensible approach is to be precise about what the statute actually says and to confirm current practice on the points it does not cover.
Three statutory features drive everything else: the term is seven years, each class needs its own application, and a mark not brought into use within one year of registration is to be cancelled.
Quick reference
| Governing law | Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act, 2022 (1965), as amended |
| Office | Department of Industry, Kathmandu |
| How rights arise | By registration at the Department |
| Application | In the prescribed format with four specimens of the mark |
| Classes | Classification by notification in the Nepal Gazette; separate application per class |
| Term | Seven years from registration |
| Renewal | Within 35 days of expiry; late renewal within six months with a fine |
| If not renewed | Registration is automatically cancelled |
| Use requirement | Cancelled if not brought into use within one year of registration |
| Complaint against publication | 35 days from publication |
| Paris Convention | Member since 2001 |
| Madrid Protocol | Not a member |
Registration is the source of the right
Section 16(1): a person may acquire title to the trade-mark of his business upon registration in the Department under section 18.
Section 16(2) then prohibits copying or using a mark registered in another’s name without a transfer of ownership or written permission under section 21D.
And section 18B goes further than most statutes: no trade-mark may be used as a registered trade-mark without registering it at the Department.
Section 21B completes the picture for foreign owners, and it is blunt: title to any trade-mark registered in a foreign country shall not be valid in Nepal unless it is registered in Nepal by the person concerned.
So Nepal is a registration system with no statutory route for an unregistered mark. That is the central planning point for a brand entering the market.
Filing
Section 17: a person wishing to register the trademark of their business applies to the Department in the format prescribed in the Schedule, along with four specimens of the mark, and pays the application fee.
Section 20 allows a person to appoint an attorney or legal practitioner to take any action under the Act, and actions taken by them are deemed taken by the applicant.
Classification is dealt with in section 18A: the Government of Nepal may classify goods or services by notification in the Nepal Gazette, and a separate application must be submitted to register marks for goods or services in different categories. A mark registered in one category may also be registered in another category if it falls there.
See filing a trademark in Nepal.
What will not be registered
The bars sit in the proviso to section 18(1). A trademark shall not be registered where it:
- may hurt the prestige of any individual or institution;
- may adversely affect public conduct or morality;
- may undermine the national interest;
- may undermine the reputation of the trade-mark of any other person; or
- is found to have been already registered in the name of another person.
Those are the statutory grounds, and they are broader and more discretionary than the lists in neighbouring statutes. See marks that cannot be registered.
Publication and the 35-day complaint
Section 21A: the Department publishes the designs and trademarks it registers, together with particulars of their renewal or cancellation, for public information.
Anyone with an objection to the published particulars may file a complaint within 35 days of the publication, and the Department takes action after holding inquiries.
Thirty-five days is short, and the window runs from publication. For a brand owner protecting a position in Nepal, watching the publications is the practical mechanism. See trademark opposition in Nepal.
The one-year use rule
Section 18C has no equivalent in the region, and it is the provision most likely to catch a defensively filed portfolio.
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.
One year, from registration, with cancellation framed as a duty rather than a discretion. A mark filed ahead of a launch that then slips is exposed on the face of the statute.
Section 18(3) separately allows the Department to cancel a registration where it is satisfied that any of the section 18(1) proviso circumstances exists — after giving the holder a reasonable opportunity to show cause.
See trademark cancellation in Nepal.
Term and renewal
Section 18D: title remains valid for seven years from the date of registration, except where renewed.
Section 23B(1): the holder must renew within 35 days from the date of expiry of the term, on the prescribed application and fee. Section 23B(2): renewal may still be made within six months after that time limit on payment of a fine — and if it is not so renewed, the registration is automatically cancelled.
Note that the renewal window in the Act opens at expiry rather than before it, which is the reverse of most systems, and that the cancellation on failure is automatic rather than discretionary.
The cap on renewals in section 23B(3) applies to patents, not trademarks, so trademark registrations are renewable in seven-year cycles indefinitely.
See trademark renewal in Nepal.
Transfer and permission to use
Section 21D handles both in one provision. The owner of a trademark may transfer the ownership or give written approval for its use. Both the parties file a joint application stating the facts, with the prescribed fee, and the Department may then transfer the ownership or approve the use.
There is no separate licensing chapter, no quality control requirement and no registered user machinery. See assignment and licensing in Nepal.
Enforcement
Section 19: a person who violates section 16(2), brings into use a mark cancelled under section 18(3), or violates section 18B may be punished with a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees, and the articles and goods connected with the offence may be confiscated on the orders of the Department, according to the gravity of the offence.
That is the statutory remedy. It is administrative and penal rather than a civil infringement action with damages, and the Department is the first forum.
See trademark infringement in Nepal.
Foreign marks
Two provisions matter to an overseas owner.
Section 21B — a foreign registration is not valid in Nepal unless registered in Nepal.
Section 21C — the Department may register patents, designs and trademarks registered in foreign countries without conducting any enquiries, where an application is filed with the certificate of registration in the foreign country, and shall provide the registration holder the facility available under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
Nepal joined the Paris Convention in 2001 and the WTO in 2004. It is not a Madrid member. See foreign trademarks in Nepal.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a Nepali trademark registration last? Seven years from the date of registration, renewable in seven-year terms.
When do I renew? Within 35 days from the date of expiry under the Act, with late renewal available within a further six months on payment of a fine. If it is not renewed, the registration is automatically cancelled.
Can I file one application for several classes? No. Section 18A requires a separate application for goods or services placed in different categories.
What happens if I register a mark and do not use it? Section 18C requires the Department to inquire and cancel the registration where the mark is not brought into use within one year of registration.
Can I rely on my foreign registration in Nepal? No. Title registered abroad is not valid in Nepal unless registered there. The Department may, however, register a foreign-registered mark without enquiry on production of the foreign certificate.
Is Nepal in the Madrid System? No. Nepal is a Paris Convention member but not a Madrid member, so protection requires a national application.
Useful official resources
- Department of Industry, Nepal
- Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act, 2022 (1965) — WIPO Lex
- Nepal Law Commission
See our related notes on filing a trademark in Nepal, trademark renewal and trademark cancellation.
Protecting a brand in Nepal, or holding a registration with the one-year use rule running? Talk to us.