How to Search Registered Trademarks by NICE Class in Nepal

To search trademarks by NICE class in Nepal, pick the class that matches your goods or services, then browse every mark published in it with IP Sewa's search by NICE class tool. Add a name search inside that class for your shortlist. Results show published marks; the Department of Industry (DoI) confirms which are registered.

Key takeaways

• A class search shows who is already in your field. A name search shows whether your name is taken. You need both.
• Nepal uses the NICE Classification: Classes 1–34 for goods and 35–45 for services. Sec. 18A requires one application per class.
• Your class decides what your registration protects, so a wrong class can leave your real product unprotected.
• Class 30 (coffee, tea, rice, spices, noodles and similar foods) is by far the busiest class in Nepal's published register.
• Always check related classes, such as a café's service class and its packaged-food class.
• IP Sewa's tools show published marks. They do not show registration status or applications not yet published.

What is a class search, and how is it different from a name search?

A name search asks one question: is my name, or something close to it, already claimed? A class search asks a wider one: who is already trading in my field, and how crowded is it? The answers shape different decisions. The first tells you whether to drop a name. The second tells you what kind of name will survive in that class.

For the name side, our guide on how to check if a trademark is registered explains how to run and read a name search. This guide covers the class side, and the tools built for it.

Why does the class you choose matter so much?

Under Sec. 18A of the Patent, Design and Trademark Act 1965, goods and services are grouped into classes, and a separate application is needed for each class. The Act is published on the Nepal Law Commission website. A registration protects the mark for the goods or services recorded in its class. File in the wrong class and your certificate may cover something you do not sell.

The class also sets where your conflicts will come from. The DoI examines a new mark against earlier marks, and under Sec. 18 it will not register one that is already registered to someone else or that damages the goodwill of another mark. The closest competition is usually inside your own class, so that is where a search starts.

Classes are not walls, though. Nepali decisions have protected well-known marks across classes. In 2023 the DoI ruled against local applications for "Virgin" and "Holiday Express Travels and Tours" filed in classes the famous owners had not registered. A class search narrows the field; it does not make famous names safe.

Not sure which class fits? The NICE class finder matches a plain description to the 45 official class headings. WIPO publishes the full Nice Classification that Nepal's classes follow.

How do you search trademarks by NICE class, step by step?

Work from what you sell, not from your company type. A trading company, a café and a software startup can all need very different classes.

1. Describe your goods and services in plain words. Write "packaged instant noodles and a noodle bar", not "food business". Include products you plan to add soon.
2. Find the class for each item. Use the NICE class finder or the AI NICE classifier, or check the class headings yourself.
3. Browse the class. Open search by NICE class, pick your class, and note the total count and the newest marks. Visitors who are not signed in see a short preview; signing in shows the full list.
4. Search your shortlisted name inside the class. In the trademark search, filter by class and try the exact name, other spellings and sound-alikes.
5. Search your product words. The goods and services search finds marks that list your product, even in a class you did not expect.
6. Check related classes. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the classes your customers connect with yours.
7. Confirm anything close. Ask the DoI whether a close mark is registered and in force, or get a written clearance opinion.

How crowded is your class?

Classes are not equally busy. In IP Sewa's archive of more than 71,500 published marks, Class 30 holds over 10,700, roughly one mark in seven. It covers everyday foods such as coffee, tea, rice, flour, spices, sauces and noodles. More than 1,100 published Class 30 marks mention noodles in their name or goods alone.

Drinks, cosmetics and medicines follow. If your class is near the top of this list, expect a long list of earlier marks and pick a name that stands apart. An invented word does far better in a crowded class than a common word such as "Himalayan" or "Fresh", which many earlier marks already use.

A quiet class is good news, but it is not a free pass. Applications still under examination are not published yet, so they do not appear in any public search. That is why a clear result should be followed by prompt filing, because Nepal is first-to-file.

Which related classes should you also check?

Customers do not think in class numbers. They think "that café also sells coffee beans", or "that clothing brand has a shop". When one business sells both goods and services, it often needs two classes, and a clash can come from either one.

Class 35 needs special care. It covers retail, advertising and business services, but it does not protect the physical products you sell. A clothing brand with only a Class 35 filing has not protected its clothes, which sit in Class 25.

What can a class search not tell you?

A class search is a map of what has been published. It is not the official register, and it has four gaps you should know about.

• Registration status. The tools show marks published in the Industrial Property Bulletin. They do not show whether a mark later received its registration certificate, was renewed or was cancelled.
• Unpublished filings. Marks still in examination are not public anywhere.
• Logos. A text search cannot compare pictures. A logo-only mark has no name to match, so look at the images of close results.
• Similarity. A list of marks does not tell you whether two marks are confusingly similar. That judgement looks at sound, look, meaning and the goods involved.

For those gaps, confirm close results with the DoI, which keeps the register. Our trademark search and clearance service gives a written opinion on the marks that matter.

What should you do after the class search?

If the field looks clear, file one application for each class you need. The DoI's checklist asks for the form, four specimens of the mark no larger than 8 × 8 cm, business registration with PAN or VAT papers, and a power of attorney if an agent files for you. After examination, the mark is published in the bulletin, and a 90-day opposition window follows before the certificate. Unopposed, the route typically takes 12–14 months, and 6–8 months in the smoothest cases.

Keep an eye on your class after you file, too. Each new bulletin adds marks to it, and anyone who objects to a newly published mark must do so within 90 days of the bulletin date. If a copy of your brand appears, our opposition team can assess whether to object. Once registered, your mark lasts seven years and is renewable for further seven-year terms, class by class.

Common mistakes

• Choosing a class from a business licence. A licence category may not match the NICE class for what you actually sell.
• Searching only your main class. Related classes cause many real clashes.
• Relying on Class 35 for products. Retail services do not protect the goods.
• Reading a quiet class as a clear name. Unpublished filings can still block you.
• Stopping at the class browse. Browsing shows the field; you still need a name search inside it.
• Calling published marks "registered". Only the DoI's record confirms registration.

An example: a noodle brand in the busiest class

Here is an illustration, not a real case. A Butwal startup plans "Nudeli" for packaged instant noodles and, later, a noodle bar. The founder uses the class finder and lands on Class 30 for the noodles and Class 43 for the bar.

Browsing Class 30 shows it is the busiest class in the register, full of noodle brands. A name search with the Class 30 filter finds no "Nudeli", but a goods and services search for "noodles" turns up two brands with names that sound close. The founder asks for a clearance opinion before printing packets, gets the go-ahead with a small spelling change, and files in both classes on the same day.

In short

Searching trademarks by NICE class in Nepal means mapping your field before you commit to a name. Find your class, browse it to see how crowded it is, search your name inside it, and check the classes your customers link with yours. The results show published marks only, so confirm anything close with the DoI, whose checklists are on the Department of Industry's Industrial Property Section page. When the path is clear, our trademark registration service can file each class for you.

People also search for

• How do I check if a trademark is registered in Nepal?
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• What is NICE Classification?
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Unsure which classes your business needs? Tell us what you sell, and we will map your classes and check them for you.