Can I Trademark a Colour in Nepal?

Partly. You can file a logo or label in colour, and the Department of Industry (DoI) publishes such marks often. A single colour on its own is a different question. Nepal's law never mentions colour, and we know of no published decision on a colour-only mark, so treat that as an open question for an advocate.

Key takeaways

• Sec. 2(c) of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 defines a mark as a word, symbol or picture, or a combination, and never uses the word colour.
• The DoI's own application form names a colour combination (रंग संयोजन) as one form a mark can take.
• IP Sewa's bulletin archive holds 176 entries whose printed name says "in colour" or "in color".
• We found no published entry that claims one colour alone. That route is untested in Nepal.
• Whatever you file, the colour must distinguish your goods or services, one NICE class per application.
• Others may oppose a published mark within 90 days, and a registration lasts seven years from registration.

What does Nepal's trademark law say about colour?

Nothing directly. As amended in 1987, Sec. 2(c) reads: a trade-mark "means word, symbol, or picture or a combination thereof" used by a firm, company or individual "to distinguish" its goods or services from those of others.

We searched the consolidated text on the Law Commission's site for "colour" and "color" and found neither word. Sec. 17 simply asks for the application with four specimens of the mark.

So the Act lists three building blocks and a test. Whether a colour can count as a "symbol" or "picture" is a reading no Nepali court has settled, as far as we can find.

Does the DoI form recognise colour marks?

Yes, for combinations. Item 9(b) of the DoI's trademark application form asks for four specimens where the mark is, beyond a word, a symbol, a picture, a colour combination (रंग संयोजन) or a mixed form. The specimens must also show the goods or services.

Item 5 asks which parts of the mark you claim exclusively and which you do not, which is where a colour claim would be written.

The DoI's Industrial Property Section page adds that each specimen may be at most 8 × 8 cm. The form says nothing about one colour standing alone.

Can a single colour be registered on its own in Nepal?

Nobody can promise either answer today. The Act is silent, the form speaks only of combinations, and the published record shows no single-colour claim. The DoI does not publish refusals, so that silence does not prove a refusal either.

Before paying for a colour-only filing, get a written opinion from an advocate. Our trademark search and clearance team can review the risk with you first.

What does the published register show about colour marks?

We checked IP Sewa's archive of more than 120 DoI bulletins, from Volume 1, Number 1 (22 January 2006) to Volume 20, Number 8 (16 October 2026), holding 71,500+ published marks. These are published entries, not a list of registrations.

The word "colour" or "color" appears in 497 printed mark names, mostly brand names.

The phrase "in colour" or "in color" finds 176 entries across 31 NICE classes, published between 2008 and 2025: 130 word-and-label marks, 39 label-only and 7 word-only. Look them up in our published trademark search.

Which colour entries come closest to a pure colour mark?

We searched mark names for "colour arrangement", "claiming colour", "colour combination" and "Pantone". All are published marks; the bulletin does not show whether each was later registered.

Multi Access Limited also filed the arrangement with other elements in Classes 5 and 32. Each entry is a colour combination or a coloured device, matching the DoI form's wording. None claims a single colour by itself.

How did Apple file its striped logo in Nepal?

Apple Inc. filed two versions of its apple logo in Class 9 on the same day, 23 July 2017.

Both appeared in Volume 14, Number 1 on 15 January 2020: one printed as "APPLE LOGO (stripped color)", the bulletin's own spelling of the rainbow stripes, and one as "APPLE LOGO (Black)".

The lesson is practical: a colour version protects that colour presentation, and a black version covers the shape whatever its colour. Our post on the evolution of the Apple logo tells the design story.

How do other countries decide single-colour marks?

Foreign courts have tested colour alone, and their reasoning shows what an examiner might weigh. None of it binds the DoI.

• Owens-Corning (United States, 1985): a federal appeals court allowed pink for glass-fibre insulation, on advertising and survey evidence, finding competitors had no need for pink.
• Qualitex (US Supreme Court, 1995): a green-gold shade on dry-cleaning press pads could be a trademark once buyers linked it to one maker, unless the colour is essential to the product's use or purpose.
• Libertel (EU Court of Justice, 2003): orange alone can be distinctive for some goods or services if described precisely, such as by an internationally recognised colour code.
• Louboutin (United States, 2012): the red sole was upheld only where it contrasts with the upper, so an all-red shoe did not infringe.
• Cadbury (UK Court of Appeal, 2013): purple (Pantone 2685C) as "the predominant colour" of chocolate packaging failed because "predominant" left too many possible forms, as WIPO Magazine reported.

Does the TRIPS Agreement require Nepal to accept colour marks?

Not quite. Nepal joined the World Trade Organization on 23 April 2004, and Article 15(1) of TRIPS says signs including "combinations of colours" shall be eligible for registration as trademarks.

The same article lets a member require distinctiveness acquired through use. It speaks of combinations, not single colours, and it binds the state rather than giving you a claim at the DoI.

Why is distinctiveness the real test for a colour?

Because Sec. 2(c) turns on whether a mark can "distinguish" your goods or services from others. A made-up word does that from day one, while a plain colour usually reads as decoration.

A colour earns acquired distinctiveness only when buyers, after years of consistent use, think of one business when they see it.

A colour other traders need is harder still: a safety colour, one that shows what a product does, or a shade a whole trade uses.

The Act has no express rule on this, but Sec. 18 lets the DoI refuse a mark that harms another mark's reputation, public morality or the national interest, or is already registered to someone else.

Which NICE classes matter for a colour mark?

The class follows the goods or services where buyers see the colour, not the colour itself. Sec. 18A(2) requires a separate application for each class, and the DoI uses the 45-class NICE classification, Classes 1–34 for goods and 35–45 for services.

A paint maker would look at Class 2, a café at Class 43, and its packaged tea at Class 30. The NICE class finder gives a first shortlist before you confirm the list of goods.

How do you file a colour-based trademark in Nepal?

Most owners file the colour as part of a label. The steps follow the standard route for brand registration in Nepal:

1. Define the claim. Name the colours, where they appear, and the exact goods or services.
2. Search first. Check colour-heavy logos in the same class with the trademark conflict checker and our search.
3. Prepare the specimens. Print four specimens in the claimed colours, no larger than 8 × 8 cm, showing the goods or services.
4. Complete the form. Use item 5 to state the parts you claim exclusively, including the colour arrangement.
5. File one application per class. Pay the application fee and answer any DoI objection during examination.
6. Watch the opposition window. After Bulletin publication, others have 90 days to oppose; then you pay the registration fee and receive the registration certificate.

The first-to-file principle generally applies, so file soon after a clean search. Our trademark registration service runs each step, and the full process is in how to register a trademark in Nepal.

What documents and evidence should you prepare?

The DoI's checklist for a Nepali applicant asks for the application form, the business or industry registration with VAT or PAN proof, four specimens, the fee receipt, and a power of attorney where an agent files.

Some practitioner lists add a board resolution and, from an established business, its latest tax clearance; a newly formed company will not have one yet, so confirm the DoI's current checklist.

A foreign owner adds a certified copy of its home registration and a priority-date letter if it claims Paris Convention priority; Nepal is outside the Madrid System.

For a colour claim, evidence of use matters as much as the forms, so gather it from the day you adopt the colour.

How long does it take, and how long does protection last?

An unopposed application typically takes about 12–14 months from filing to certificate, and 6–8 months only in the smoothest cases; both are estimates, not promises.

In the 12 latest bulletins by date, the median gap from filing to publication was about 3.5 months across 9,652 marks, but about one mark in six took over two years. See how long registration takes for the stages.

Under Sec. 18D a registration lasts seven years from the date of registration, and the renewal term is seven years at a time, any number of times. Renew within 35 days after expiry, or within six more months on a fine.

Sec. 18C lets the DoI cancel a mark not brought into use within one year of registration.

A published mark can be opposed within 90 days of its publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin; rely on the deadline the DoI states. That same window lets you oppose a newcomer whose label copies your colours, which our opposition and enforcement team handles.

Common mistakes with colour trademarks

• Claiming a colour too early. A new business has no proof buyers link the shade to it.
• Filing only the colour version. Apple's two filings show why a black version is worth adding.
• Vague descriptions. Cadbury's "predominant colour" wording is the warning: name the colours and where they sit.
• Drifting shades. Changing the colour between packs and adverts weakens the claim.
• Wrong class. Protection follows the listed goods or services, not everything you sell later.
• Using ® early. Sec. 18B bars presenting a mark as registered before it is, and Sec. 19 adds a fine and confiscation.

What could go wrong with a colour claim?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. "Hima Dairy" has sold milk in a sky-blue carton for three years and files the blue alone in Class 29, with no logo and no evidence beyond the carton.

Several dairies already use similar blues, and nothing shows buyers link the shade to Hima. A safer filing is the full carton label in colour, plus the word mark, while Hima builds dated proof of recognition.

In short: can you trademark a colour in Nepal?

You can file colours as part of a label, and the register holds many. A single colour alone is untested: the Act is silent, the DoI form mentions only combinations, and foreign courts demand precise descriptions and strong proof.

For most brands the order is the name, then the logo in colour, then evidence. Our guide to registering a logo as a trademark covers the label route.

People also search for

• Can you trademark a colour, sound or smell?
• Can you own a colour? Brand colours and the law
• How to choose the right trademark class in Nepal
• Why trademark applications are rejected in Nepal

Thinking of protecting your brand colours? Search the published marks first, then contact IP Sewa for advice on your colour claim.