Trademark Class 9 in Nepal — Software, Electronics & Apps (What It Covers & How to File)

A Class 9 trademark in Nepal covers goods: downloadable software and apps, phones, computers, electronics, batteries, cables and safety gear such as protective helmets. WIPO's 2026 edition moves spectacles and sunglasses to Class 10. IP Sewa's bulletin archive holds 3,566 published Class 9 marks, and about one in four has a Nepali owner.

Key takeaways

• Class 9 protects a brand on products, including software the customer downloads or receives recorded.
• Software used online (SaaS) is Class 42, telecom services 38, online games 41 and game consoles 28.
• The 2026 NICE edition moved spectacles, contact lenses and sunglasses out of Class 9 into Class 10.
• Nepal has published 3,566 Class 9 marks, rank 7 of 45; in the 12 latest issues it ranked third.
• Only 24% of Class 9 marks have a Nepali owner, against 60% across the register.
• Each class needs its own application under Sec. 18A(2), and a registration lasts seven years from registration.

What does trademark Class 9 cover in Nepal?

Nepal's Department of Industry (DoI) places goods using the NICE classification. The current text is the 13th edition, version 2026, published on WIPO's Nice Classification page. Its Class 9 heading is long, so here are its core phrases, quoted exactly:

• "apparatus and instruments for recording, transmitting, reproducing or processing sound, images or data";
• "recorded and downloadable multimedia files, computer software, blank digital or analogue recording and storage media";
• "computers and computer peripheral devices"; "cash registers, calculating devices"; and "fire-extinguishing apparatus".

WIPO's explanatory note sums it up: Class 9 includes mainly scientific and research apparatus, "audiovisual and information technology equipment, as well as safety and life-saving equipment." That covers smartwatches, virtual reality headsets, cases for smartphones, point-of-sale terminals, batteries and protective helmets.

What changed for Class 9 in the 2026 edition?

Three changes matter. Spectacles, contact lenses and sunglasses now appear in Class 9's exclusion list, marked "(Cl. 10)". The heading's "recorded and downloadable media" became "recorded and downloadable multimedia files". Nose clips for swimmers also moved to Class 10, and the list fell from 872 indications in 2025 to 860.

The eyewear change reaches Nepali businesses. In the 26 December 2025 issue, Gurkha Chasma Udhyog published four Class 9 marks for "चस्मा तथा सनग्लास" (spectacles and sunglasses), filed under the older edition. An optician filing today should ask the DoI whether it applies the 2026 list, because Sec. 18A(1) lets the Government set classes by Gazette notice.

WIPO's 2027 version, in force from 1 January 2027, only rewords the diving items in the Class 9 heading.

Is downloadable software a Class 9 good?

Yes. The 2026 list includes "computer software applications, downloadable", "computer programs, downloadable", "computer game software, downloadable", "downloadable e-wallets" and software for minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs). If the customer installs or keeps a copy, it is a product.

Describe the software by what it does. "Downloadable computer software for accounting and invoice management" is clearer than "software", and easier to defend. These examples are illustrative; match the wording to your real product with the NICE class finder.

When does software belong in Class 42 instead?

When the customer uses it online without keeping a copy. Class 42 lists "software as a service [SaaS]" and "providing online non-downloadable computer software", plus software design for others. Our Class 42 guide covers that side in depth.

Most software firms need both: an app in the store is Class 9, while the web platform behind it is Class 42. Our guide to trademark registration for software companies walks through that split.

Which neighbouring classes do tech brands confuse with Class 9?

Each row below is quoted from the 2026 NICE list, so you can check the wording yourself:

Games are the trickiest. The downloadable game is Class 9, the console Class 28 and the hosted online game Class 41. Our Class 28 guide covers consoles and toys, the Class 38 guide networks.

How many Class 9 marks has Nepal published?

IP Sewa's archive of 123 bulletins, from Volume 1, Number 1 (22 January 2006) to Volume 20, Number 8 (16 October 2026), holds 3,566 Class 9 entries. That is about 5% of all 71,842 published marks, rank 7 of the 45 classes.

The class is growing faster than the register. In the 12 latest issues by date, Class 9 took 666 of 9,652 entries (6.9%) and ranked third.

The eight 2026 issues already hold 428 Class 9 marks, more than all of 2025 (381). Honor Device alone published 18 of them, the most of any owner this year.

These are published bulletin entries, not registrations confirmed by the DoI. Browse them with search by NICE class.

Who owns Nepal's Class 9 marks?

Mostly foreign companies. By owner country, 843 of the 3,566 entries (24%) have a Nepali owner, against 60% across the register. China follows with 718 and the United States with 715, then India (250), Japan (202) and South Korea (108), from about 60 countries.

Owner countries in our data were corrected on 19 October 2026: Class 9 marks that print a foreign address but were tagged "Nepal", including Chinese phone makers such as Vivo, OPPO, Honor and OnePlus, now carry the country in their address, which puts China ahead of the United States. Another 56 Class 9 rows carry no country tag; seven of them print a Nepali address and are not counted above.

Grouped by company, with spelling variants merged, the busiest owners are:

The owner search lists any company's published marks.

Which Nepali companies file in Class 9?

About 450 Nepali owner names appear. The busiest is C.G. Electronics Pvt. Ltd. (19 marks, 2015 to 2024, including CG Mobile and CG Smartphone). Annapurna Cables Industries filed 18, all published in 2023.

Teletalk Pvt. Ltd. filed 11 marks for mobile phones, such as COLORS MOBILE and PRIDE SMARTPHONES. Pallavi Electra and N.G. Electro Power have 11 each. Judging by the busiest names, cables, electrical goods and phones lead the Nepali side.

Nepali filers also move faster. In the 12 latest issues, Class 9 marks with a Nepali owner reached the Bulletin a median of about three months after filing; foreign ones waited about a year.

Should you file the word mark, the logo or both?

In Class 9, 53% of entries are a word with a logo, 41% words only and 6% logos only. A word mark protects the name however you style it; a logo filing protects the design shown.

A redesigned logo can drift from the one on an older certificate even when the name stays the same. Our guide on how to legally name a software or app brand covers choosing a name that can register.

Does a Class 9 mark protect your code or company name?

No. It protects the sign for the listed goods, not your source code, features or every future product. Code is a copyright question; see our software copyright guide. A new technical process may raise patent questions, so ask a lawyer.

Registering a company, buying a domain and filing a trademark are separate acts. A company name gives no trademark certificate, and nor does a domain.

Search the Nepal trademark database for exact names, sound-alikes and transliterations; a blank result does not prove a name is free, because unpublished applications do not appear.

How do you file a Class 9 trademark in Nepal?

The Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 sets the route. Sec. 17 covers the application, with four specimens of the mark, and Sec. 18 examination and registration.

1. Name the owner. File in the name of the person or company that will control the brand.
2. Map your offering. Separate devices and downloads (9) from online services (42), retail (35) and training (41).
3. Search first. Check names and logos in Class 9 and related classes with the conflict checker.
4. Draft the goods list. Use current WIPO wording that matches your real products.
5. File at the DoI. One application per class, with specimens and documents.
6. Answer examination. The DoI checks the Sec. 18 grounds and earlier marks, and lets you be heard.
7. Watch the opposition window. Once published in the Industrial Property Bulletin, the mark can be opposed within 90 days, counting the publication day as day 1. Rely on the deadline the DoI states.
8. Collect the registration certificate. Pay the registration fee, then check the owner, mark and goods on it.

Our trademark registration service handles each step, and the trademark search team gives a written clearance opinion first.

What documents and timing should you expect?

Prepare the applicant's exact name and address, specimens of the mark, the goods list and a power of attorney if an agent files (Sec. 20 allows one). An established company may be asked for its latest tax clearance; a newly formed company will not have one yet, so confirm the current checklist with the Department of Industry.

An unopposed trademark typically takes about 12–14 months from filing to certificate, and 6–8 months only in the smoothest cases; both are estimates. Across all classes in the 12 latest issues, the median filing-to-publication gap was about 3.5 months, but about one in six took over two years.

How long does a Class 9 registration last?

Sec. 18D sets seven years from the date of registration. A trademark is renewable any number of times, seven years at a time, under Sec. 23B(3). Renew within 35 days from expiry; a six-month late window follows on a fine, then the registration is cancelled automatically.

Use matters too: under Sec. 18C, a mark not used within one year of registration can be cancelled after inquiry. The renewal calculator works out your dates, and our trademark renewal team tracks them.

What should foreign electronics and software owners know?

Nepal is not in the Madrid System, so an international registration does not reach it. Sec. 21B says a foreign registration is not valid in Nepal unless registered here, and Sec. 21C lets the DoI register a foreign-registered mark without enquiries when the foreign certificate is enclosed.

A Paris Convention priority claim is possible, but it is not an ordinary filing; keep the earlier application papers and get advice on the deadline.

The first-to-file principle generally applies, so file before you launch in Nepal.

Common mistakes in Class 9 filings

• Filing only Class 9 for SaaS. An online platform needs Class 42.
• Writing "all electronic goods". Name the devices you really sell.
• Using old eyewear wording. WIPO's 2026 edition puts spectacles and sunglasses in Class 10; check which edition the DoI applies.
• Searching one spelling. Check sound-alikes, transliterations and logos.
• Treating a company name as cleared. Company registration is not trademark clearance.
• Assuming an old filing covers new products. A payment terminal added later needs a fresh check.

How would a software start-up map its filings?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. "Himal Cloud" sells a downloadable accounting app, browser-based accounting software and training webinars. The app points to Class 9, the online software to Class 42 and the training to Class 41: three applications for one name.

If it later adds branded payment terminals, those are Class 9 goods its first specification may not cover. Review the goods list before each launch.

In short: what is Class 9 in Nepal?

It is the NICE class for technology and safety products: devices, downloads and recorded software. Online services, networks, games and, since 2026, eyewear belong elsewhere, so most tech brands need more than one class.

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Launching an app, a phone brand or an electronics line? Start with our trademark registration service, or talk to IP Sewa about Class 9 and the classes around it.