The Trademark Register of Nepal Explained

The trademark register of Nepal is the official government record of every trade mark registered with the Department of Industry (DoI) under the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965. It is the definitive source for checking whether a brand name, logo or symbol is already protected in Nepal before you file your own application.

Key Takeaways

• Nepal's trademark register is maintained by the Department of Industry (DoI) and lists every active, renewed and cancelled registered mark in the country.
• Registration is first-to-file — whoever files a valid application first gets the rights, not the first person to use the mark in commerce.
• The register is public; anyone can search it through the DoI to check if a proposed brand name or logo conflicts with an existing registration.
• A registered trade mark in Nepal is valid for 7 years from the date of registration and can be renewed indefinitely in 7-year blocks.
• Once a mark is registered, it is published in the Industrial Property Bulletin and open to a 90-day opposition window before the certificate is final.
• A single registration covers one NICE class only; a brand operating across multiple classes must file and register separate applications for each one.
• You can search the register by application number, owner name, or keyword through IP Sewa's free trademark database search — or we can handle the full DoI search for you.

What exactly is the trademark register of Nepal?

The trademark register is the Department of Industry's official ledger of every trade mark that has been approved for registration under the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965. It records the mark itself, the owner's identity, the NICE class it covers, and its legal status — active, renewed, cancelled or expired. Under Sec. 21A of the Act, the DoI must publish all registrations (and renewals and cancellations) in the Industrial Property Bulletin, making the register a public, transparent record anyone can inspect. Think of it as the single source of truth for who owns which brand in Nepal.

Why does the trademark register matter for your business?

Because Nepal is a first-to-file jurisdiction, the register — not your sales invoices or Instagram following — decides who has rights. If someone else filed your brand name before you did, they hold the registered mark and can stop you from using it, even if you have been trading under that name for years. Checking the register before you invest in signage, packaging or a marketing campaign is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy. It also lets you monitor competitors' filings and spot potential infringements early. Our team regularly helps businesses run a pre-filing trademark database search so they don't walk blind into a conflict.

Who maintains the register and what authority do they have?

The Department of Industry (DoI), based in Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, is the sole registering authority for trademarks in Nepal. Under the Act, the DoI acts not just as an administrative registry but as a quasi-judicial body — its Law Division conducts hearings, examines oppositions and issues rulings on trademark disputes. That means the same institution that enters a mark onto the register also has the power to cancel it if a challenge succeeds. The DoI operates under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and follows the procedures set out in the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 and the Trademark Directives, 2072 BS (2015). Nepal is not a member of the Madrid System, so the DoI register is purely domestic — it does not extend protection abroad, and foreign registrations do not automatically appear here.

What information does the register actually contain?

For each registered mark, the DoI register holds the trademark itself (word, logo, symbol or combination), the owner's full name and registered address, the NICE class number under which the mark is protected, the application and registration dates, and the mark's current legal status — whether it is active, under opposition, renewed or cancelled. If the mark claims priority from an earlier foreign filing under Sec. 21B of the Act, that priority date and country are also recorded. The register does not, however, contain detailed goods-and-services descriptions beyond the class heading; for a fuller picture you typically need to cross-reference the published application in the Industrial Property Bulletin. You can search the register through several access points using IP Sewa's application number lookup or owner and applicant search tools.

How do you search Nepal's trademark register?

You have two practical routes to search the register. First, you can go directly to the Department of Industry's public search facility at doind.gov.np — the DoI provides an online database where you can query by application number, proprietor name or keyword. A word of caution from practice: the DoI search works well for word marks but is less reliable for figurative and logo elements, so a manual search alone may miss a conflicting logo that covers similar goods. The second route is to use IP Sewa's trademark database search, which pulls from the same official register. For a thorough clearance, many businesses combine both with a professional search handled by our team — we know the classification quirks and can interpret results that a raw database hit might obscure.

How does a mark get entered onto the register?

Getting a mark onto Nepal's trademark register follows a fixed legal sequence under the Act. Here is the process step by step.

1. File the application. Submit the completed Schedule 1(c) form to the DoI with four specimens of the mark and the required government fee. One application covers exactly one NICE class.
2. DoI examination. The Department examines the application for distinctiveness and checks the register for conflicting marks. If the examiner raises an objection, you get a chance to respond and defend the application.
3. Publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin. If the application clears examination, the DoI publishes the mark in the Bulletin. This is the public notice that triggers the opposition window.
4. 90-day opposition period. Any third party can file an objection with the DoI's Law Division within 90 days of publication. If an opposition is filed, the DoI holds a hearing and the certificate is withheld until the matter is resolved.
5. Registration and certificate. If no opposition is filed — or once an opposition is decided in your favour — you pay the registration fee and the DoI enters the mark onto the register and issues the Schedule 2(c) registration certificate.

How long does a registration stay on the register?

A registered trade mark in Nepal stays on the register for 7 years from the date of registration, as set by Sec. 18D of the Act. After that, it can be renewed for further 7-year terms, an unlimited number of times — there is no maximum lifespan for a properly maintained registration. Renewal must be filed within 35 days of the expiry date. If you miss that window, the Act grants a 6-month grace period under Sec. 23B(2), but a late-filing penalty applies. If the mark is not renewed within that grace period, the registration is automatically cancelled and the mark is removed from the register — there is no restoration procedure. You can estimate renewal deadlines with our renewal calculator or let our team handle the trademark renewal filing so a deadline never slips.

Can a registration be removed from the register?

Yes — and there are several ways it can happen. The most common is non-renewal: if you do not renew within the 6-month grace window, the DoI cancels the mark automatically. A registration can also be cancelled for non-use under Sec. 18C of the Act — if the registered mark is not put into genuine commercial use within one year of registration, the DoI may remove it. Third, a successful opposition or cancellation action brought by an aggrieved party can result in removal. Finally, a court or the DoI itself may order cancellation if the registration is found to have been obtained fraudulently or in bad faith. Once cancelled, the mark is struck from the active register — though the record of its existence typically remains visible as a historical entry.

How does the register relate to the NICE classification system?

Nepal's trademark register is organised around the NICE Classification, the international system that groups all goods and services into 45 classes (Classes 1–34 for goods, Classes 35–45 for services). Under Sec. 18A of the Act, the DoI requires a separate application for each class — so a single brand covering, say, clothing (Class 25) and retail services (Class 35) will appear as two distinct entries on the register. This is a critical point for anyone searching the register: you must check every class your business touches. Seeing a mark registered in Class 30 for tea does not block you from registering the same name in Class 43 for restaurant services — but you need to confirm the register is clear in the specific class you intend to file in. Use our NICE class finder to identify which classes apply to your goods or services before you run a register search.

Registered vs unregistered marks — what the register means for enforcement

In Nepal, the register is not just a record — it is the foundation of your enforcement rights. A registered mark gives you the exclusive right to use that trade mark for the goods or services covered by your class, and the ability to bring an infringement action under the Act. An unregistered mark, by contrast, enjoys no statutory protection. Your only remedy if someone copies an unregistered mark is a passing-off action under common law — a far heavier burden, because you must prove reputation, goodwill and likelihood of confusion in court, with no presumption of validity. A registration certificate flips that burden: the register entry itself is prima facie evidence of your rights. We explored this distinction in detail in our guide on registered vs unregistered trademarks in Nepal. The short version: if your brand matters, get it on the register.

A realistic Nepal example

Imagine a Pokhara-based pashmina business, "Himali Weave," that has sold shawls under that name for three years without registering. A Kathmandu exporter files "Himali Weave" in Class 25 for clothing — and because it is first-to-file, that exporter now holds the registered mark. The Pokhara business cannot stop the exporter from using the name, and if it tries to expand into Kathmandu retail, it risks an infringement claim. Worse, it has no standing to object to the registration because it never filed its own application. The only option left is a difficult, expensive passing-off suit. A simple register search and a timely filing could have prevented the entire problem. This is not hypothetical — we see variations of it regularly, and it is why our trademark search service exists.

Common mistakes when using Nepal's trademark register

• Searching only one class. A mark can be registered in multiple classes by different owners. Searching only your primary class can miss a conflict in a related class that could block your registration or create future disputes.
• Relying on a word-mark search alone. The DoI database handles word marks reasonably well but logo and device marks are harder to retrieve accurately. A manual review of the Bulletin is often needed alongside a database search.
• Assuming a clean search means you are safe. The register shows registered marks, but an application that has been filed and not yet published will not appear. The gap between filing and publication can be several months.
• Ignoring the renewal deadline. A lapsed registration is gone for good — there is no reinstatement after the 6-month grace period. We see established businesses lose their registered mark this way every year.
• Filing without checking the register at all. Some businesses assume their company registration at the Office of the Company Registrar gives them trademark rights. It does not. The OCR and the DoI are entirely separate registers with no automatic link.

How IP Sewa fits in

We built our platform to make Nepal's trademark register accessible and actionable for business owners. Our free trademark database search lets you query the register by keyword, owner or application number. If you need help interpreting results, identifying the right NICE classes, or filing an application to get your own mark onto the register, our team handles the full process — from pre-filing search through examination, publication and certificate. We also assist with renewals and oppositions. The register is public, but navigating it confidently takes experience; that is what we provide.

In short, Nepal's trademark register is the definitive record of who owns what — and checking it thoroughly before you file is the single most important step in protecting your brand. You can run an initial search now through our trademark database, or get in touch and we will handle the full clearance and registration process for you.

People also search for

• How to register a trademark in Nepal
• Registered vs unregistered trademark in Nepal
• How much does trademark registration cost in Nepal
• Documents required for trademark registration in Nepal
• How long does trademark registration take in Nepal
• How to choose the right trademark class in Nepal
• Nepal intellectual property office — the DoI explained
• What is the NICE classification for trademarks