Nepal has been bound by the Paris Convention since 22 June 2001. For a filer that means two things. A foreign applicant files at the Department of Industry on the same terms as a Nepali one, and a first filing earns a right of priority: six months for trademarks and designs, twelve for patents.
Key takeaways
- Nepal acceded to the Stockholm Act of the Convention, in force for Nepal from 22 June 2001.
- A filer gets national treatment, a right of priority, independent rights and rules against copies of well-known marks.
- Priority is six months for trademarks and designs and twelve months for patents, from the first filing.
- Sec. 21C of the 1965 Act is its only treaty reference, added by the 2006 amendment.
- There is no international registration, and Nepal is outside Madrid, the PCT and Hague.
- In IP Sewa's bulletin data, 39% of published trademark entries name a foreign owner.
- The first-to-file principle generally applies, so your date matters.
What does the Paris Convention give a filer in Nepal?
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is an 1883 treaty administered by WIPO. Article 1(2) lists what it covers: patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, service marks, trade names, indications of source and unfair competition.
It grants nothing by itself; it sets rules each member follows when handling a filing from another member's national. These are the articles a Nepal filer is most likely to meet.
| Article | What it gives a filer | What it means in Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 2 | The same protection and remedies as a national. | The same Act and DoI route; a local agent may still be required. |
| Art. 4 | Priority: six months for marks and designs, twelve for patents. | Claimed inside a Nepali application, with proof of the first filing. |
| Art. 4bis and 6(3) | Each country's right stands on its own. | A foreign title has no effect here, as Sec. 21B confirms. |
| Art. 5bis | At least six months' grace to pay maintenance fees. | A mark is renewable within 35 days of expiry, then six months on a fine, under Sec. 23B. |
| Art. 6bis | Refusal or cancellation of copies of well-known marks. | Argued before the DoI, with evidence of reputation in Nepal. |
| Art. 6quinquies | A home registration accepted for filing as it stands. | Sec. 21C lets the DoI register a foreign-registered mark without enquiries. |
| Art. 11 | Temporary protection for goods at official international exhibitions. | The Act is silent on it, so ask the DoI first. |
When did Nepal join, and which text applies?
Nepal acceded to the Stockholm Act of 1967. WIPO Lex records the instrument as deposited on 22 March 2001, in force from 22 June 2001. Accession means joining an existing treaty in one step, without signing it first.
Nepal also joined the WTO on 23 April 2004. That matters because Article 2.1 of the TRIPS Agreement makes every WTO member comply with Articles 1 to 12 and 19 of the Paris Convention.
Where does Nepal's Act mention the Convention?
In one sentence. Sec. 21C of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 (2022 BS) says the Department "shall provide the facility of pursuant to the Paris Convention" to the registration holder. The consolidated text on the Nepal Law Commission site marks it as inserted in 2006, five years after Nepal joined.
Sec. 21B, just before it, carries the rule a foreign owner most needs: a patent, design or trademark registered abroad is not valid in Nepal unless it is registered in Nepal.
The DoI's trademark form names it too. In clause 10 the applicant accepts cancellation at any time if the mark proves to be one that must be protected under the Paris Convention.
Does the Convention bind the Department of Industry?
Nepal's Supreme Court has treated it that way. In Decision No. 8577, Sumi Distillery v. Guinness United Distillers & Vintners, decided on 14 February 2011 (2067/11/02 BS), a joint bench noted that Nepal is a Paris party and a WTO member bound to follow TRIPS.
It said that under the Nepal Treaty Act 2047 (1990) a treaty provision applies where it conflicts with Nepali law, so Nepal's trademark law must be compatible with those treaties. It then upheld an appellate ruling that had sent the dispute back to the DoI to decide again.
What does national treatment mean for a filer?
National treatment is Article 2. A national of one member gets, in every other member, the same protection and legal remedies as that country's nationals, on the same conditions and formalities.
Article 2(2) bars any requirement to live or be established in the country. Article 2(3) still lets a country require a local agent, which is why a foreign owner files through a Nepali representative under a power of attorney, as Sec. 20 of the Act allows.
How many foreign owners file in Nepal?
Many. IP Sewa has extracted every entry from the 123 Industrial Property Bulletins published from January 2006 to October 2026. Of the 71,842 published trademark entries, 27,980 (39%) name an owner outside Nepal, and 701 carry no readable country.
India leads with 5,710 entries, ahead of the United States with 5,465 and China with 3,838. These are published-bulletin counts, not official DoI figures; look up any owner with the owner search.
How does the right of priority work?
Article 4 lets anyone who has duly filed in one member file the same subject in other members within a fixed period and keep the first date. The periods are twelve months for patents and utility models and six months for industrial designs and trademarks.
The period starts on the first filing date, and Article 4C(2) says that day is not counted. If the last day falls when the office is closed, Article 4C(3) moves it to the next working day.
Inside the window, another person's filing, a publication of the invention or use of the mark cannot defeat the later application. Rights a third party gained before your first filing are left to each country's law.
What does a priority claim require?
Article 4D asks for a declaration of the date and country of the first filing. A country may also ask for a copy certified by the first office, which needs no further authentication, plus a translation.
Nepal's Act does not restate this, and the trademark form has no separate box for a priority date. Our advocates' notes list a notarised or certified copy of the earlier filing for all three rights. Confirm the format with the Department of Industry before the window closes, and see our guide on claiming Paris priority in Nepal for the full claim.
Why should a Nepali filer not wait for publication?
Because the window runs from filing, and the Bulletin can be slow. Across the 12 latest bulletins by date, the median gap between a mark's filing and its publication was 3.5 months, over 9,652 marks. Only 64% were published within six months.
About one in six, 15.6%, waited more than two years. A business that waits to see its mark in the Industrial Property Bulletin before filing abroad will often find the six-month window already shut. Registration typically takes about 12–14 months end to end when unopposed, so no certificate will arrive in time either.
The Bulletin does not show priority either: none of the 71,842 entries IP Sewa has extracted prints a priority date or country, so you cannot see whether a rival claimed an earlier foreign date.
How do you claim priority abroad from a Nepal filing?
No single international filing is available from Nepal, so exporters file country by country. Treat the Nepali filing date as day zero.
- File a complete application at the DoI. For a trademark, pick the class first with the NICE class finder.
- Record the filing. Keep the number, the date, the owner's exact name and what was filed.
- Ask for a certified copy early. Foreign offices may want one, and certification is rarely quick.
- List the target countries. Check each office's forms, language and local-agent rules.
- File before the deadline. Declare the Nepali date and country, with the applicant name unchanged.
For patents, showing or publishing the invention before you file may cost novelty abroad. Our note on why a patent priority date matters covers that side.
Is a Nepali right independent of the foreign one?
Yes. Article 6(3) treats a registered mark as independent of the same mark in other members, including the home country. Article 4bis does the same for patents, even those filed inside the priority period.
A refusal abroad therefore does not end a Nepali right, and a foreign registration does not create one. Article 6(2) adds that a Nepali application cannot be refused just because the mark was never filed at home.
Does the Convention protect a well-known mark not filed in Nepal?
Article 6bis asks members to refuse or cancel a registration, and to prohibit use, of a mark that copies, imitates or translates a mark considered well known in that country, for identical or similar goods.
A member must allow at least five years from registration to seek cancellation, and no time limit where the copy was registered or used in bad faith. In Nepal the point is raised before the DoI, for example inside the 90-day opposition window after Bulletin publication, with evidence of reputation here.
Proving reputation takes evidence and time, so treat it as a fallback. Our opposition and enforcement service handles both routes.
Can a foreign registration be accepted "as is"?
Article 6quinquies lets an owner whose mark is registered at home file it in other members in the same form. It can still be refused if it infringes third-party rights, lacks distinctive character, or is contrary to morality or public order.
Sec. 21C's first limb reads in a similar spirit: the DoI may register a foreign-registered mark without enquiries if the foreign registration certificate is enclosed. The wording is permissive, so plan for normal examination anyway.
What does the Paris Convention not do?
It creates no international registration, central filing or single certificate, and each office still examines under its own law.
Nepal is also outside the three WIPO filing systems built on it. On 16 October 2026, WIPO Lex listed 117 Madrid Protocol members, 159 PCT members and 85 Hague members, with Nepal in none. India is in Madrid and the PCT; China is in all three.
Our guides to Nepal and the Madrid System and how the PCT works explain what those systems would have offered.
Common mistakes
- Waiting for the Bulletin. The window runs from filing, and publication can take years.
- Counting the filing day. Article 4C(2) leaves it out.
- Changing the mark or claims. Priority covers only what the first filing showed.
- Letting the owner's name drift. A different applicant needs a documented transfer.
- Relying on fame abroad. Sec. 21B gives a foreign registration no effect here.
- Expecting Madrid to reach Nepal. It does not, nor do the PCT or Hague.
What does this look like for a Nepali exporter?
This is an illustration, not a real case. An Ilam tea company files its brand at the DoI in Class 30 on 10 January and plans to sell in India and Japan, both Paris members.
Its window closes on 10 July, because the filing day is not counted. It orders a certified copy at once and, in May, files through local agents in both, declaring the Nepali date.
In March a trader in one of those markets files a similar name. Because the tea company's claim takes the January date, the trader's filing comes second on timing. Each office still examines it under its own law.
In short
Nepal has applied the Paris Convention since 22 June 2001, and Sec. 21C points the DoI to it. A filer gets equal treatment, six or twelve months of priority and rules against copied well-known marks, but no international registration.
Start with trademark registration, patent registration or industrial design registration, and read the treaty itself at WIPO.
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Planning a filing into or out of Nepal? Check the name in the published trademark database, then send us your first filing date and markets and we will map the deadlines.
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