The Department of Industry Trademark Manual Explained

The Department of Industry trademark manual is the working rulebook — anchored in the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 — that governs every trademark filing, examination, publication and renewal in Nepal. It sets the 90-day opposition clock, the 7-year certificate term and the document checklist the DoI enforces daily in Kathmandu.

Key Takeaways

• The DoI trademark manual reflects the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 and the Trademark Directives 2072 BS — together they form the single legal framework for trademarks in Nepal.
• Nepal is first-to-file; registration with the DoI creates the right, not prior use in the market.
• Every application moves through examination, publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin, and a 90-day opposition window before a certificate issues.
• A registered trademark is valid for 7 years and can be renewed indefinitely for further 7-year terms.
• One application covers one NICE class only — a business spanning multiple classes must file multiple applications.
• Nepal is not a member of the Madrid System; foreign applicants file directly through a local agent with a notarised Power of Attorney.
• The DoI also acts as a quasi-judicial body, hearing oppositions and cancellation actions through its Law Division.

What exactly is the DoI trademark manual?

The "DoI trademark manual" is not a single downloadable PDF. It is the collective framework of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965, its amendments, the Trademark Directives 2072 BS (2015), and the administrative practice the Department of Industry has built over decades. Together these sources tell you what marks the DoI will register, which forms to use, what grounds for refusal apply and how long each procedural step takes. Think of it as the operating system every trademark application runs on — you may never read the source code, but every examiner decision traces back to it.

Which law gives the DoI its trademark authority?

The Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 is the primary statute — a single Act covering patents, designs and trademarks in one document. Its trademark provisions run from the sections dealing with acquisition of title through to renewal. The First Amendment of 1987 inserted much of the modern framework, including the classification system, the use-it-or-lose-it rule and the publication mechanism. A 2006 amendment modernised IP provisions further to align with international obligations. The full consolidated text is available from the Nepal Law Commission. For day-to-day procedure, the Trademark Directives 2072 fill in the operational gaps — defining well-known marks, setting language rules for oppositions and naming enforcement bodies.

Who handles trademark registration under the manual?

The Department of Industry — specifically its Law Division — handles every trademark filing, examination, publication and opposition hearing. The DoI sits under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, at Tripureshwor, Kathmandu. It wears two hats: it is the registrar that grants certificates and a quasi-judicial body that runs hearings when a mark is opposed. Its rulings carry a weight practitioners compare to a District Court order. If you are filing from outside Nepal, you cannot deal with the DoI directly — you must appoint a Nepal-based agent through a notarised Power of Attorney. This is a hard legal requirement, not a preference. If you need help finding the right representative, our contact page connects you to qualified professionals.

How does the DoI classify trademarks under the manual?

The DoI uses the NICE Classification, the international system maintained by WIPO, dividing all goods and services into 45 classes. Classes 1–34 cover goods; classes 35–45 cover services. Based on data from 120 Industrial Property Bulletin issues, the most-filed classes in Nepal are Class 30 (coffee, tea, spices, bakery and staple foods), followed by Class 33 (alcoholic beverages), Class 3 (cosmetics and cleaning), Class 5 (pharmaceuticals), Class 35 (advertising, retail and business services) and Class 32 (non-alcoholic beverages). The manual is strict: one application covers one class only. A business selling packaged tea (Class 30) and running a tea shop (Class 43) must file two separate applications. The DoI examiner checks your class selection during examination — a mismatch can stall your application. Our NICE Class Finder helps you identify the right classes before you file.

What documents does the DoI manual require?

The document checklist splits by applicant type. For a Nepali business, you need the completed application form, a notarised Power of Attorney (signed by the applicant, sealed, with two witnesses), a board resolution, four specimens of the mark, your industry registration certificate and a tax clearance letter. A foreign applicant adds one more item: a notarised copy of the home-country registration certificate, in English. Every document the DoI receives is scrutinised — missing the board resolution or an improperly witnessed Power of Attorney are among the most common reasons applications stall. Our trademark registration service handles document preparation and verification so nothing gets returned.

How to register a trademark under the DoI manual

The manual maps out a five-stage process that typically takes 12–14 months when unopposed. Here is the sequence every application follows.

1. Conduct a trademark search. Before you file, check the DoI registry for conflicting marks. The DoI search works well for word marks but is limited for logos and figurative elements. Our trademark conflict checker gives you a more thorough pre-filing clearance.
2. Select your NICE class(es). Identify every class your goods or services fall under. One class equals one application. Getting this wrong at the filing stage can waste months.
3. File the application. Submit the application form with four specimens of your mark and all supporting documents. The DoI assigns an application number and issues an acknowledgment.
4. Respond to examination. The DoI examiner reviews your mark for distinctiveness, conflict with existing registrations and the moral/public-interest grounds in the Act. If the examiner raises objections, you get a chance to respond and defend.
5. Publication and opposition. Once the examiner is satisfied, your mark is published in the Industrial Property Bulletin. Third parties have 90 days to oppose. If no one objects, you pay the registration fee and receive the certificate.

What happens during DoI examination?

The examiner checks your mark against several refusal grounds written into the Act. The DoI will reject a mark that hurts the reputation of an individual or institution, damages public morality, harms the national interest, infringes another's goodwill or is already registered in someone else's name. The examiner also looks at distinctiveness — generic or descriptive terms for the goods themselves rarely pass. In practice, the DoI word-mark search is reasonably thorough, but logo and device-mark searching is weaker, which is why a solid pre-filing clearance matters so much.

What is the Industrial Property Bulletin and why does it matter?

The Industrial Property Bulletin is the DoI official gazette where accepted trademark applications are published for public scrutiny. The Act mandates this publication. Once your mark appears in the Bulletin, a 90-day clock starts. During that window, any third party can file an opposition with the DoI Law Division. If an opposition lands, the DoI withholds your certificate and runs a hearing process — essentially a mini-trial where both sides present arguments. The Trademark Directives require oppositions filed in a foreign language to include a notarised Nepali translation. An unopposed publication is the cleanest path to your certificate. You can search published marks using our trademark search tool.

How long does registration take under the DoI manual?

Plan for 12–14 months as a realistic timeline from filing to certificate. The fastest cases — where the mark is distinctive, the class selection is correct, the documents are flawless and no one opposes — can finish in about 6–8 months. But you should not bank on the best case. The DoI process is, in the words of practitioners, "slightly dilatory." Examination backlogs, incomplete paperwork and the mandatory 90-day Bulletin publication window all add time. Foreign applicants should budget extra weeks for document notarisation and agent coordination. For a stage-by-stage breakdown, see our guide on how to register a trademark in Nepal.

What are the renewal rules under the DoI manual?

A registered trademark in Nepal lasts 7 years from the date of registration, and you can renew it indefinitely for further 7-year terms. The renewal application must reach the DoI within 35 days of expiry. Miss that window and you get a 6-month grace period — but a late fee applies. If you let the full grace period lapse without renewing, the registration is automatically cancelled. There is no reinstatement once it is gone. The DoI publishes renewals and cancellations in the Industrial Property Bulletin. Our renewal calculator helps you track deadlines so a mark does not slip through the cracks.

Does the manual say anything about using the mark after registration?

Yes — and it is a rule many new registrants overlook. The Act says that if a registered trademark is not used within one year of registration, the DoI may cancel it. This is Nepal's "use-it-or-lose-it" provision. The mark must appear on goods, packaging or in commercial use connected to the registered class. Simply holding the certificate is not enough. If a competitor wants your mark cancelled, non-use is one of the grounds they will raise. Keep records — invoices, photographs of products bearing the mark, advertising materials — so you can prove use if challenged.

Can a foreign business use the DoI manual to register directly?

Foreign applicants cannot file directly with the DoI. The manual — and established practice — requires filing through a locally based agent or representative holding a notarised Power of Attorney. Nepal is not a member of the Madrid System, so you cannot designate Nepal through a WIPO international application. The foreign-applicant document package includes everything a domestic applicant submits, plus a notarised copy of the home registration certificate. All documents must be in English or accompanied by a notarised Nepali translation. Our foreign trademark registration service handles the entire process from document gathering to DoI filing.

What are the most common mistakes people make when following the DoI manual?

A few pitfalls trip up filers repeatedly. Wrong class selection is the biggest — picking a goods class for a retail service, for instance. Skipping the pre-filing search leads to office actions and wasted effort when a conflict surfaces during examination. Incomplete Powers of Attorney — missing a witness signature or notarial seal — get the entire application returned. Filing a logo as a word mark without understanding that the DoI search engine handles words far better than figurative elements. And waiting too long to renew — once the 6-month grace period expires, the mark is gone for good. If you are unsure about any step, our FAQs cover the questions we hear most often from first-time filers.

A practical example: "Himali Chiya"

Imagine a Kathmandu-based tea company called Himali Chiya that sells packaged orthodox tea. They want to protect their brand name (word mark), their leaf-and-mountain logo (device mark) and the tagline "Taste the Altitude." Under the DoI manual, they file three separate applications in Class 30 (tea, coffee, spices) — one for each mark. They run a pre-filing search and discover an existing registration that is visually and phonetically distinct enough that their agent advises them to proceed. The applications pass examination, get published in the Industrial Property Bulletin, clear the 90-day window without opposition and three certificates are issued. Himali Chiya now owns registered rights they can enforce against copycats — and they have a 7-year renewable term for each mark. If they later open a tea house, they will need a fourth application in Class 43.

In short: the DoI trademark manual is the rulebook every brand in Nepal plays by — it dictates the forms you file, the examination standards, the 90-day opposition window, the 7-year renewable term and the documents you must get right. Knowing the manual is not a luxury; it is what keeps your application moving and your registration enforceable. If you are ready to start, try our trademark search to check for conflicts, or get in touch to have a professional handle the filing from end to end.

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Ready to file under the DoI manual? Start your trademark registration with professional guidance, or run a conflict check to see if your mark is clear before you invest in the application.