The Trademark Register of Nepal: How It Works

The trademark register of Nepal is the official record the Department of Industry (DoI) keeps under Sec. 22 of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965. It shows which marks are registered, to whom and in which class, and when a registration is cancelled. Trademark registration in Nepal means getting your mark entered on it.

Key takeaways

• The Department of Industry keeps the register under Sec. 22.
• Title comes from registration (Sec. 16), and the first-to-file principle generally applies.
• A mark in the Industrial Property Bulletin is published, not yet registered; others have 90 days to oppose it.
• Each NICE class needs its own application and its own entry.
• An entry lasts seven years from registration and is renewable any number of times.
• A sale or licence must be recorded at the DoI on a joint application (Sec. 21D).

What is the trademark register of Nepal?

The Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 tells the Department, in Sec. 22, to keep separate registers of patents, designs and trademarks, noting each registration or cancellation. The trademark register is therefore a legal record, not a business directory.

Under Sec. 16(1), a person acquires title to a trademark "upon registration". Until then you hold an application, not a right. Sec. 26 even carried over marks registered under the 1936 law, so some entries predate the 1965 Act.

Who keeps Nepal's trademark registry?

The Department of Industry keeps it through its Industrial Property Section (औद्योगिक सम्पत्ति शाखा), which also handles renewals, transfers and complaints. Its document checklists are on the DoI's Industrial Property Section page.

It is not the Office of the Company Registrar (OCR), and a company name registered there is no trademark. Nor does WIPO hold a register for Nepal: Nepal is outside the Madrid System, and Sec. 21B gives a foreign registration no force here until the mark is registered in Nepal.

Much of today's register is younger than the Act. The 1987 amendment added classification, publication, the seven-year term and renewal; before it, a registered mark had no statutory term.

What does a register entry record?

Sec. 22 names the core facts: that a mark is registered, and whether it was later cancelled. The certificate format in Schedule 2(c) adds a certificate number, the date, and space for each renewal and its new expiry date.

Around those facts sits the application: the mark as filed, the owner's name and address, the NICE class and the goods or services. Under Sec. 21D(5), approved licences go into the register-book too.

How does a mark get onto the register?

A standard application passes six stages before it is recorded. The DoI decides each one, and an examination reply or an opposition can add months.

1. Apply. File the Schedule 1(c) form with four specimens of the mark and the application fee (Sec. 17).
2. Examination. The DoI investigates the mark and gives you a chance to be heard before it decides (Sec. 18(1)).
3. Publication. An accepted mark is printed in the Industrial Property Bulletin for the public.
4. Opposition window. Anyone may oppose within 90 days of publication; act before the DoI's stated deadline.
5. Registration certificate. If no opposition succeeds, you pay the registration fee and receive the certificate (Sec. 18(2)).
6. Recorded. The mark now sits on the register in your name, and the seven-year term starts.

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. Our trademark registration service handles each stage.

Is a mark in the Industrial Property Bulletin already registered?

No. The Bulletin (औद्योगिक सम्पत्ति बुलेटिन) is the DoI's public notice of marks accepted for publication. A printed mark still faces the opposition period and joins the register only when the certificate issues.

That is why IP Sewa says "published", never "registered", for Bulletin marks. Our archive holds more than 120 issues, from Volume 1, Number 1 (22 January 2006) to the newest on the DoI's Bulletin page. Our opposition team can act on a conflicting mark there.

What does IP Sewa's bulletin data show about the register?

The only official figures are totals. Nepal's Economic Survey 2082/83 reports 70,970 trademarks registered at the DoI up to Falgun 2082 (mid-March 2026), 55.7% domestic, but no names or classes. Below is IP Sewa's own count of published marks on 16 October 2026.

India, the United States and China follow Nepal as the most common owner countries. One company can appear under several address spellings, so we group names before counting owners.

The median hides a long tail: in those 12 issues, about one mark in six took over two years. See the most-filed classes in Nepal for more.

How can you check the register before filing?

Start with a free screen. IP Sewa's Nepal trademark registry search covers the 71,500+ marks published in DoI bulletins. It shows published marks, not registration status or unpublished filings. Bulletins start in 2006, so an older, still-renewed registration may be missing; the lowest application number we hold is 21,261.

Then narrow it down. The conflict checker tests similar names, the owner search lists one company's marks, and the application-number lookup finds one entry. Our guide on checking whether a trademark is registered covers each step.

The DoI offers its own trademark search, and only the DoI can confirm a mark's status. For a written opinion on conflicts, our trademark search and clearance team reviews them with you.

Why does the register decide who owns a brand?

Because title comes from registration, the first-to-file principle generally applies in Nepal. The earlier complete application usually wins, even against an earlier user, so waiting after a clean search is risky.

The register also blocks look-alikes. Sec. 18 lets the DoI refuse a mark already registered to someone else, or one that harms another mark's reputation, public morality or the national interest. See registered and unregistered marks for what an unrecorded brand can still do.

Which NICE classes does the register use?

Sec. 18A lets the government classify goods and services by a Nepal Gazette notice. In practice the DoI uses the NICE classification of 45 classes, 1–34 for goods and 35–45 for services, as set out on WIPO's Nice Classification page.

Sec. 18A(2) requires a separate application for each class, so a brand that sells packaged tea and runs a café may need two entries. The NICE class finder suggests likely classes before you file.

What documents put a domestic mark on the register?

The DoI's checklist for a Nepali applicant asks for:

• the completed application form;
• a copy of the permission or registration certificate for the related industry or business, with VAT or PAN proof;
• four specimens of the mark, at most 8 × 8 cm, showing the business name, address and goods or services;
• the receipt for the application fee; and
• a power of attorney where a representative files.

Some practitioner checklists also ask for a board resolution and, from an established business, its latest tax clearance. A newly formed company will not have a tax clearance yet, so confirm the DoI's current checklist.

What extra does a foreign owner need?

A foreign applicant adds a certified copy of its home registration certificate, still in force, and a priority-date letter if it claims priority. It also needs a power of attorney and a Nepal correspondence address, since Sec. 20 lets it act through an attorney.

Sec. 21C lets the DoI register a mark already registered abroad without its usual enquiries, with Paris Convention facilities such as priority. A Madrid filing does not reach Nepal, so a national application is the only route.

How is an ownership change or licence recorded?

Under Sec. 21D, an owner may assign a registered mark or permit its use in writing. Both parties file a joint application with the prescribed fee, and the DoI then records the transfer or the approved use.

The DoI's checklist asks for the joint application, the agreement or transaction document, evidence for the change and the fee receipt. Schedule 3 sets separate fees for a transfer and for an amendment on record. Until a change is recorded, the register still names the old owner.

How long does an entry stay on the register?

Sec. 18D sets a term of seven years from the date of registration, not filing. Sec. 23B makes a trademark renewable any number of times, seven years at a time, so an entry can last indefinitely.

Renew within 35 days after the term expires. A late renewal is possible within six months on a fine; after that the registration is cancelled automatically. The renewal calculator works out your dates.

The DoI's renewal checklist asks for the original certificate, the fee receipt, proof that the business registration is renewed, and proof that the mark is in use. Our trademark renewal team tracks every class.

When can the DoI cancel a registered mark?

The register records removals as well as entries. Sec. 18(3) lets the DoI cancel a mark where a refusal ground exists, after a chance to show cause. Under Sec. 18C, a mark not put into use within one year of registration can be cancelled after inquiry.

Sec. 21A(1) has the DoI publish registered marks and any renewal or cancellation, so a removal is public too.

Can you get an official copy or extract from the register?

Yes, through the DoI. The Act's Schedule 3 sets a fee for "information of registration details" and another for a copy of the certificate, and Sec. 24 covers a lost certificate.

There is no public online status tracker, so a status question goes to the DoI in writing or through your agent. Keep the certificate, application number and Bulletin details together.

Common mistakes: what do people misread on the register?

Most errors come from treating a nearby record as the register:

• Calling a published mark registered. Publication opens the opposition window; the certificate comes later.
• Using ® too early. Sec. 18B bars presenting a mark as registered before it is; Sec. 19 adds a fine and confiscation.
• Trusting a company name. An OCR registration gives no trademark right.
• Searching one spelling. Test sound-alikes, translations and the logo, not just the exact word.
• Leaving a sale unrecorded. Without a Sec. 21D filing, the seller stays on the register.
• Forgetting use. A mark left unused for a year after registration can be cancelled under Sec. 18C.

What happens when a brand drifts from its register entry?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. "Khola Brew" registers its word mark in Class 30, then sells the tea business. Nobody files the Sec. 21D joint application, because the buyer thinks the sale agreement is enough.

At renewal the buyer holds the certificate, but the register still names the seller. In practice the buyer must first record the transfer, with the seller signing, and only then renew. Recording each change promptly avoids that scramble.

In short: what is the trademark register of Nepal?

It is the DoI's legal record of who owns which mark, in which class, and whether the registration is alive. A Bulletin entry is a step towards it; IP Sewa's search screens what has been published.

For brand registration in Nepal, the order is simple: search, file early, record every change and renew on time.

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Ready to put your mark on the register? Start with our trademark registration service, or contact IP Sewa about a record you have found.