To register a trademark in Nepal, file an application at the Department of Industry under the Patent, Design and Trademark Act 1965. The DoI examines the mark, publishes it in the Industrial Property Bulletin, allows 90 days for opposition, then issues a certificate. One application covers one class. Plan for about 12 to 14 months when nobody objects.
Key takeaways
- The Department of Industry (DoI) registers trademarks in Nepal and also decides disputes about them.
- Nepal is first-to-file. Under Sec. 16, title comes from registration, not from who used the name first.
- Sec. 18A requires one application per NICE class, so a brand sold as goods and services needs more than one filing.
- An accepted mark is published in the Industrial Property Bulletin, and anyone may oppose it within 90 days.
- A registration runs 7 years and renews in 7-year terms without limit. Use the mark within a year or it can be cancelled.
Who registers a trademark in Nepal?
The Department of Industry, under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, is the registrar. Its Industrial Property Section handles trademarks, patents and designs under one statute, the Patent, Design and Trademark Act 1965 (2022 BS). The Act's text is published by the Nepal Law Commission.
The DoI is also quasi-judicial. Its law division hears oppositions and infringement complaints and rules on them, with an appeal to the High Court. The office you file with also decides a challenge to your mark.
Does registering your company protect the name?
No, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in Nepali branding. A company record at the Office of the Company Registrar identifies a legal entity. A trademark identifies goods or services in the market.
They are kept by different offices and do different jobs. Incorporating "Everest Harvest Pvt. Ltd." does not stop a stranger applying to register "Everest Harvest" as a trademark for the same goods.
If your customers know you by a name, that name needs its own file at the DoI. Our guide on registered versus unregistered marks sets out what you do and do not hold without one.
What can you register as a trademark?
Sec. 2(c) defines a trademark as a word, symbol or picture, or a combination of them, used by a firm, company or individual to distinguish its goods or services from others.
That covers a brand name, a logo, a label, a slogan, or the name and logo filed as one mark. The test is whether the sign points customers to a single source.
Should you file the name, the logo, or both?
A word mark protects the name in plain letters. It is the most flexible choice because it is not tied to one font or colour, and it survives a packaging redesign.
A device mark protects the logo or symbol on its own. A combined mark protects the two exactly as filed, which is narrower than it looks: change the layout and you may be outside what you registered.
If the budget allows only one filing, most businesses are better served by the word, because that is what customers say, type and search for. Our note on registering a logo as a trademark covers the other direction.
What will the Department of Industry refuse?
Sec. 18 lists the grounds: a mark already registered in another person's name, one that damages the goodwill of another's trademark, one that hurts a person's or an institution's reputation, and one that goes against public morality or the national interest.
Distinctive names survive examination far better than descriptive ones. "Fresh Momo" describes what every momo seller sells, so it is weak and hard to defend.
A small spelling change does not clear a conflict either. Nepali decisions have treated marks as deceptively similar where a prefix or suffix is added but the word still sounds the same at first glance, and well-known marks have been protected even across classes.
Which NICE class should you file in?
Nepal uses the NICE Classification, the international list of 45 classes. Classes 1 to 34 are goods and Classes 35 to 45 are services. Sec. 18A ties each application to one class, and a mark registered in one class may be registered in another separately.
| What you sell | Class usually looked at | What it does not cover |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing under your own label | Class 25 | The shop or website that sells it |
| Restaurant, cafe or momo shop | Class 43 | Packaged food sold in shops |
| Packaged tea, snacks or drinks | Class 29, 30 or 32 | Catering or dine-in service |
| A mobile app or software you supply | Class 9 | Development done for clients |
| Retail, wholesale or an online store | Class 35 | The goods sold under your own brand |
The third column is where most filings go wrong. Registering the shop service does not protect the product, and registering the product does not protect the shop.
The free NICE class finder gives a first reading of where your business sits, and our walk-through of the DoI application process shows how class choice shapes the rest of the file.
How do you register a trademark, step by step?
- Search first. Look for identical and similar names in the classes that matter. Our trademark search covers the 71,500 or more marks published in DoI bulletins; it shows published marks, not registration status, so treat it as a screen rather than a clearance.
- Fix the owner and the mark. The applicant should be the business that owns the brand, not the designer who drew the logo. Decide whether you are filing the name, the logo, or both.
- Choose the class or classes. Match what you actually sell today, plus anything you will launch soon enough to justify the filing.
- Prepare the application. Sec. 17 requires the application form together with four specimens of the mark. The DoI publishes its trademark application form, titled व्यापार चिन्ह (ट्रेडमार्क) दर्ताको निम्ति आवेदन फाराम, on the Department of Industry site.
- File and answer examination. The DoI checks the mark against Sec. 18 and against earlier marks. If it raises an objection, the reply has to meet the actual ground, not restate the application.
- Clear publication and collect the certificate. An accepted mark appears in the Industrial Property Bulletin. If no opposition succeeds within 90 days, you pay the registration fee and the DoI issues the certificate.
What documents do you need?
A Nepali applicant generally files the application form, the label of the mark, a notarised power of attorney signed and attested by two witnesses, the company board resolution, industry or business registration documents where the business needs them, and the latest tax clearance letter. A newly formed company will not have a tax clearance yet, so confirm the Department of Industry's current checklist.
Requirements change from time to time. Confirm the current list with the DoI before you notarise anything, or let our trademark registration team assemble the file.
Can a foreign business register in Nepal?
Yes, and many do, but only by filing here. A foreign applicant appoints a Nepal-based agent and adds a certified or notarised copy of its home registration in English.
Under Sec. 21C, filing with the foreign certificate can support a Paris Convention priority date. In practice the DoI still runs its own examination rather than registering on the strength of the foreign certificate alone.
The trap is assuming an international registration already covers Nepal. It does not, because Nepal is outside the Madrid System, and there is no shortcut around the national filing.
How long does registration take?
Plan for about 12 to 14 months from filing to certificate when nobody objects. The smoothest cases can finish in six to eight months, but treat that as the fast end rather than the plan.
Two parts of the wait are outside anyone's control. Examination runs at the DoI's own pace, and publication depends on when the next bulletin issue appears.
Reading our own bulletin archive, the gap between a filing date and the issue that publishes a mark has often run well over a year. Treat any single figure as a typical case, not a promise.
What you can shorten is the risk. A clean class, an accurate goods list and a prompt reply to examination are the three things that keep a file moving.
What does registration cost?
Cost has two separate sides. The DoI charges official fees at set points, and professional work is charged separately.
Because Sec. 18A ties one application to one class, the number of classes is the single biggest driver of both. Search depth, document preparation, notarisation and any examination reply or opposition add to the professional side.
Official charges can change by notice, so use our fee calculator for current figures rather than an older article, and ask us for a case-specific estimate.
What happens if someone opposes your mark?
Anyone may object within 90 days of publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin. The DoI's law division then inquires, hears both sides and rules, much as a court would, and the certificate is held back until it decides.
An opposition is a legal proceeding, not a queue delay. It needs evidence about your use and the other party's mark, and it can add months.
The same window works in your favour when a copycat files. Watching the bulletin is how you catch a conflicting mark while objecting is still an option rather than a lawsuit.
What happens after you are registered?
A registration lasts 7 years from the date of registration and renews in further 7-year terms, without limit. Sec. 23B gives 35 days after expiry to renew and a six-month late window on a fine, after which the registration is cancelled automatically.
Use matters as much as the certificate. Sec. 18C lets the DoI cancel a registered mark that is not put into use within one year, so file the brand you are actually going to launch, and keep invoices, packaging and signage that show it in use.
Sec. 18B does not allow an unregistered mark to be presented as registered. Use ™ while an application is pending and ® only once the certificate is in hand. If a similar mark turns up in a bulletin, our opposition and enforcement team can act inside the 90-day window.
Common mistakes
- Filing after the launch. Under first-to-file, a rival who applies first usually wins the argument.
- Treating company registration as brand protection. The two records live in different offices.
- Filing one class for a business that trades in two. The gap is where a copycat files.
- A vague goods list. Loose wording invites an examination query and narrows what you can enforce.
- Letting the logo designer be the applicant. The certificate then sits with the wrong person.
- Ignoring the bulletin. The 90 days run whether or not anyone is watching.
What does this look like in practice?
This is an illustration, not a real case. A Pokhara family opens a bakery called Suryamukhi and registers the company at the Office of the Company Registrar. Two years later they start selling packaged biscuits in Kathmandu shops.
A search shows a similar mark already published for baked goods, and their company registration is no answer to it. Had they filed in Class 30 for the biscuits and Class 43 for the bakery before printing packaging, they would have found the clash while a name change was still cheap.
In short
Search the register, pick the right class, file at the Department of Industry with four specimens, answer examination, then wait out the 90-day bulletin window. Renew every seven years and keep the mark in use. WIPO explains the classes on its NICE Classification page.
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Tell us the name, what you sell and where you sell it, and we will tell you which classes to file and what the file needs. Send us the details and we will come back with the next step.
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