Trademark Class 45 in Nepal — Legal & Security Services (What It Covers, Full List & How to File)

NICE Class 45 covers legal services, security services that physically protect people and property, and personal or social services. Law firms, guarding companies, IP consultancies, dating services and funeral providers file here. In Nepal you register a Class 45 mark at the Department of Industry, one class per application.

Key takeaways

• Class 45 holds three things at once: legal services, physical security, and personal and social services.
• Cyber-security is Class 42, not Class 45. Class 45 security is the physical kind: guards, patrols, alarms, investigation.
• Online social networking and dating services are Class 45, even though the app that delivers them is built by a Class 42 business.
• Class 45 is one of the quietest classes in Nepal's published record: about 316 marks from roughly 183 applicant names.
• Nepal requires a separate application per class (Sec. 18A), so a firm that spans legal, tech and transport files more than once.
• A registration runs 7 years (Sec. 18D) and can be renewed in further 7-year terms without limit.

What does trademark Class 45 cover?

Nepal's Patent, Design and Trademark Act 1965 defines a trademark at Sec. 2(c) as a word, symbol or picture used by a firm, company or individual on its goods or services — the class only decides which goods or services the right covers. Class 45 holds three groups of services, joined by the idea that each is bought for a person or an organisation rather than produced as a thing. Legal work is the largest group. Physical security is the second. The third is the broad set of personal and social services people buy for themselves, from a dating service to a funeral.

Intellectual-property work sits here too. IP consultancy, licensing and the monitoring of IP rights are Class 45 services, which means the work behind protecting a trademark is itself classified in Class 45.

What is the official Class 45 heading?

The current heading published by WIPO reads: "Legal services; security services for the physical protection of tangible property and individuals; personal and social services rendered by others to meet the needs of individuals."

Two words in that sentence do most of the work. Physical excludes cyber-security. Tangible excludes data. If what you protect is information rather than a building, a vehicle or a person, you are almost certainly outside Class 45. The full alphabetical list of terms is maintained by WIPO in the Nice Classification, and Nepal applies the same 45 classes.

What is not in Class 45?

The neighbours are close enough that firms file in the wrong one regularly:

One case surprises people. A social-networking or dating service is Class 45. The platform that hosts it may also involve Class 42 work, and the shop inside the app may involve Class 35. Same product, three classes, depending on which part you are protecting.

Who files in Class 45 in Nepal, and how many?

We extract every entry from every Industrial Property Bulletin the Department of Industry publishes. In that record Class 45 holds about 316 marks from roughly 183 different applicant names — the second-smallest of the eleven service classes, ahead only of Class 40. For comparison, Class 35 holds more than 3,800. These are marks published in the bulletin rather than a live registration count.

That scarcity is the interesting part. Nepal has a large legal profession, a large private-security industry and a growing set of consultancies, yet very few of them have ever applied to protect their own name. A law firm that spends twenty years building a reputation and never files is relying entirely on being the first to think of it.

The businesses that do file here are law firms and legal consultancies, IP and licensing consultancies, guarding and patrol companies, alarm-monitoring and investigation agencies, wedding and funeral service providers, and matchmaking or introduction services. If that describes you, run the name through the search by Nice class tool before you print anything.

How do you register a Class 45 trademark in Nepal?

The route is the standard national one. The care goes into the wording, because "legal services" and "security services" on their own are too broad to defend well.

1. Search the published record. Check identical and similar names in Class 45 and in any related class you may need. Start with the published trademark records, then widen to sound-alikes and Devanagari spellings.
2. Name the exact services. Write "intellectual property consultancy; legal research; arbitration" rather than "legal services". Precision is what makes the registration enforceable later.
3. Decide how many classes you need. Under Sec. 18A each Nice class is a separate application with its own fee, so a firm with a legal arm and a software arm files twice.
4. Prepare the documents. See the list below, and confirm the current requirements with the Department of Industry before you file.
5. File and answer the examiner. Under Sec. 18 the Department examines for distinctiveness and for conflict with earlier marks, and may refuse a mark that damages another owner's goodwill. Answer any query within the period given.
6. Publication and opposition. An accepted mark is published in the Industrial Property Bulletin. A published trademark can be opposed within 90 days of publication; rely on the deadline the Department of Industry states and act before the last day.
7. Certificate. If nothing blocks the application, the mark is registered and the certificate issues.

An unopposed application commonly runs about 12 to 14 months end to end. Only the smoothest cases move faster, so treat a quicker result as luck rather than a plan. Our trademark registration service runs this from clearance to certificate.

What documents does the Department ask for?

A Nepali company usually prepares:

• The application form and a clear label of the mark
• A notarised power of attorney, signed, sealed and attested by two witnesses, if an agent files
• A board resolution authorising the filing
• The company's industry certificate and, for an established business, its latest tax clearance letter (a newly formed company will not have one yet, so confirm the Department of Industry's current checklist)
• A precise written list of the Class 45 services

A foreign applicant files through a Nepal-based agent and adds a notarised or certified copy of its home registration certificate in English. Nepal is not in the Madrid System, so an international registration gives no rights here on its own: under Sec. 21B a mark registered abroad is not valid in Nepal until it is registered in Nepal. A Paris Convention priority claim is available within 6 months of the first foreign filing, supported by a certified copy of that filing.

How long does a Class 45 registration last?

Seven years from the date of registration under Sec. 18D, renewable in further seven-year terms with no stated limit. The renewal mechanics sit in Sec. 23B: file within 35 days of expiry, with a limited late window on payment of a fine, after which the registration is cancelled automatically.

Two smaller rules matter for professional firms. Under Sec. 18C, a registered mark that is not put to use within a year of registration can be cancelled, so do not file a defensive name you never intend to trade under. And under Sec. 18B you may not present a mark as registered before it is: the ® symbol waits for the certificate.

What does a strong Class 45 specification look like?

A specification is the list of services your registration actually covers. In Class 45 it is the difference between a certificate you can enforce and one that invites an argument. Compare these:

• Weak: "legal services". Stronger: "legal advice and representation; arbitration and mediation services; intellectual property consultancy; drafting of legal documents".
• Weak: "security services". Stronger: "security guarding of buildings and events; security patrols; monitoring of burglar and fire alarms; personal bodyguard services".
• Weak: "personal services". Stronger: "dating services; online social networking services; house sitting; pet sitting".

The longer version is not padding. If a competitor later uses your name for alarm monitoring and your registration says only "security services", you will spend the first part of any dispute arguing about what your own certificate means. Naming the service closes that gap before it opens.

Keep the list honest, though. Sec. 18C allows a registered mark to be cancelled if it is not put to use within a year, so listing services you do not sell is not free insurance. Write what you do now and what you have a real plan to do.

Common mistakes in Class 45 filings

• Filing a security company only in Class 45. Guarding is Class 45, cyber-security is Class 42, cash in transit is Class 39. One application leaves two-thirds of the business open.
• Calling business consultancy "legal services". Only legal advice is Class 45. A compliance firm that does both needs Class 45 and Class 35.
• Writing the heading as the specification. Copying the class heading word for word is not a description of your business and invites an examiner query.
• Assuming an app is one class. The dating service is Class 45, the platform may be Class 42, and the marketplace inside it may be Class 35.
• Filing in a partner's personal name. When the partnership changes, the mark and the firm end up in different hands.
• Skipping the clearance search. The Department examines for conflicts, but finding a blocking mark after you file costs the fee and the months. Screen with the conflict checker first.

What does a multi-class security brand look like?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. A Kathmandu company called Sentinel Nepal guards office buildings, sells a cyber-security audit to the same clients, and moves cash for two banks.

Only the guarding is Class 45. The audit is Class 42 and the cash run is Class 39, so protecting the whole business takes three applications rather than one. The company can stage them: file the class that carries the most revenue and the most recognisable name first, then add the others as budget allows. Staging is a compromise, not a strategy, because each unfiled class stays open to whoever files it. If the company files Class 45 alone and a competitor later registers the same name for IT security, the competitor is not copying an unprotected brand in the eyes of the register — it is registering an unclaimed class. The fix is to map the revenue lines to classes before filing, not after a dispute. Goods versus services classification explains the split further.

In short

Class 45 is legal services, physical security and personal or social services, including the IP consultancy work behind trademark protection itself. Cyber-security, secure transport and general business consultancy are not in it. Nepal's published record holds only about 316 Class 45 marks, so most law firms, security companies and consultancies in the country have never registered their own name. Write precise services, count your classes honestly, and file before the name is public.

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If your firm sells more than one kind of service, the class count matters more than the class name. Tell us what you actually do and we will map it before anything is filed. This article is general information, not legal advice.