Trademark registration for a construction company in Nepal usually starts with a service mark in NICE Class 37, filed at the Department of Industry (DoI). Design work adds Class 42, property sales Class 36, and branded materials Class 19 or Class 6. Each class needs its own application, and a company name is not a trademark.
Key takeaways
- Class 37 covers building, repair, installation and demolition work.
- Design work sits in Class 42; selling and managing property in Class 36.
- Bricks, cement and plywood are Class 19; steel rebar and hardware Class 6.
- Sec. 18A(2) requires a separate application for each class.
- A name approved by the Office of the Company Registrar gives no trademark right.
- A published mark can be opposed within 90 days; a registration lasts seven years and is renewable.
Why is a contractor's name a brand worth registering?
A contractor's name does more selling than any advert. It goes on tender documents, site hoardings, vehicles, helmets and the board outside every finished building. Clients and engineers choose a firm partly on that name, so a rival trading under a similar one borrows a reputation it did not earn.
Registration turns the name into a right. Under Sec. 16 of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965, title comes "upon registration", and nobody may use a registered mark without a transfer or written permission. The first-to-file principle generally applies, so an earlier valid application can beat a firm that merely used the name first.
Does registering the company protect its name?
No. The Office of the Company Registrar (OCR) records a legal entity and approves its name, but it does not examine that name as a trademark or give any right in a NICE class. Another business can still file a similar mark at the DoI.
A contractor licence, a domain name and a social-media page are no different: none of them is a registration certificate. Sec. 18B also forbids using a mark as registered before it is, so never print ® beside a pending name.
Which trademark classes does a construction business need?
Start from what the customer buys from you, not from the word "construction". The table maps the usual offerings to NICE classification classes, with sample wording from WIPO's current 13th edition (Version 2026).
| What you offer | Class | Sample WIPO wording |
|---|---|---|
| Building, roads, bridges, renovation | 37 | construction; building construction supervision; demolition of buildings |
| Crane and equipment hire | 37 | rental of cranes; rental of bulldozers |
| Architecture and engineering design | 42 | architectural services; drafting construction plans; engineering |
| Selling, letting or managing property | 36 | real estate agency services; apartment house management |
| Bricks, cement, plywood, tiles | 19 | bricks; cement; plywood; tiles, not of metal, for building |
| Steel rebar, girders, hardware | 6 | reinforcing materials, of metal, for concrete; girders of metal |
| Insulation products | 17 | acoustic insulating materials |
Sec. 18A(2) requires separate applications for goods or services in different categories, so one Class 37 filing does not stretch to a branded cement or a design studio. The NICE class finder suggests likely classes before you commit.
What does Class 37 actually cover?
WIPO's heading reads "Construction services; installation and repair services; mining extraction, oil and gas drilling." Its explanatory note names the construction and demolition of buildings, roads, bridges, dams and transmission lines, plus painting, plastering, plumbing, roofing and the rental of construction machines.
Class 37 is wider than building: the same note adds vehicle maintenance, computer-hardware repair and cleaning, and sends "drafting construction plans, architectural services" to Class 42. Our Class 37 guide explains the class itself; the full lists are on WIPO's Nice Classification page.
What does the published register show for Class 37?
IP Sewa indexes every Industrial Property Bulletin from January 2006 to October 2026. Counting published entries by printed NICE class, Class 37 holds 681, which ranks it 27th of the 45 classes. These are IP Sewa counts of published marks, not official DoI statistics, and they show no registration status.
Only 106 of those entries, about 16%, carry a Nepal address. China (170), Japan (80), India (72) and the United States (61) supply most of the rest. Grouped by owner name, the busiest filers are vehicle and technology companies: Chery Automobile with 16 entries, Hero MotoCorp 14, BYD 10 and Apple 8.
That fits the WIPO note, since vehicle maintenance is a Class 37 service. Nepal-address owners number just 76. Browse the class yourself with search by NICE class.
Who files in Classes 19 and 6?
Materials tell a different story. Class 19 holds 2,056 published entries, the 11th busiest class, and 87% carry a Nepal address. Of those entries, 953 mention cement in their goods text. Samrat Cement and Asian Concreto lead with 40 entries each, followed by Shree Ganesh Plywood Industries with 36.
Class 6 holds 820 entries, 65% with a Nepal address. Hulas Steel Industries leads with 26, then Shree Steels with 23 and Hulas Iron Industries with 19, counted by printed name. For a new cement or steel brand, clearance in these crowded classes is real work.
Do Nepali contractors file in more than one class?
Rarely, on our count. Of the 76 Nepal-address owners with a Class 37 entry, only seven also have one in Class 19, 36 or 42, and none in Class 6. Four property firms added Class 36, two firms added Class 42, and Aero Bricks filed both bricks and construction.
That gap matters when one name runs across a group: leave a class open and a rival can take the name there. See how real-estate companies and manufacturers handle the same choice.
Should you file the company name, the logo or a project brand?
A word mark protects the name in any lettering. A logo filing protects the design as filed, so a redesign may need a fresh application. With budget for one filing, protect the name clients use to choose a contractor.
Housing projects often carry their own names, separate from the developer's. File a project name when it will outlive one site or appear on sales material.
Who should own a construction trademark?
File in the name of the entity that controls the brand. A founder, an operating company, a holding company and a project company are different applicants, and the register names only one.
Joint ventures need a written answer first: who owns a shared name, who may use it and what happens when the project ends. Joining a consortium does not make a partner co-owner of a mark registered to someone else.
How do you search before printing site boards?
Search before you print hoardings, uniforms or vehicle graphics. Check the exact name, spelling variants, sound-alikes, Nepali transliterations and similar logos in every class you plan to use.
IP Sewa's trademark search covers the 71,500+ marks published in DoI bulletins, not registration status or unpublished filings, so a clean result is a good sign, not proof. Test variants with the conflict checker, or ask our trademark search and clearance team for a written opinion.
What documents does the DoI ask for?
The checklist for a Nepali applicant on the DoI's Industrial Property Section page asks for:
- the completed application form;
- a copy of the industry or business registration or permission, with VAT or PAN proof;
- four specimens of the mark, at most 8 × 8 cm, showing the business name, address and services;
- the receipt for the application fee; and
- a power of attorney if an agent files.
Some practitioner checklists also ask an established business for its latest tax clearance. A newly formed construction company will not have one yet, so confirm the DoI's current list before filing.
How does a construction company file, step by step?
- Identify the owner. Name the entity that controls the brand.
- Map the business. Split building work, design, property and goods into classes.
- Draft the services. Use current Class 37 wording, such as building construction supervision.
- Search the mark. Review names and logos in every class you need.
- File. Submit the Sec. 17 form, specimens and documents, one application per class.
- Answer examination. Under Sec. 18(1) the DoI investigates and lets you respond.
- Track publication. Note the Bulletin issue and the opposition deadline.
- Collect the certificate. Pay the registration fee and check the owner, class and services.
Our trademark registration service runs each step for you, across every class.
What happens after the mark is published?
An accepted mark is printed in the Industrial Property Bulletin, which opens a 90-day opposition window. The DoI's own Bulletin of 8 July 2025 asked for objections within 90 days of publication; new issues appear on its Bulletin page. Act before the last day the DoI states; our opposition team can file against a copycat.
Across the 12 latest issues, the median gap from filing to publication is about 3.5 months on our data, yet about one mark in six took over two years. An unopposed trademark typically takes about 12 to 14 months to certificate, 6 to 8 months only in the smoothest cases.
How should you describe a pending mark in a tender?
Filing close to a bid deadline records an application; it does not create a registered right or speed up examination. In proposals, write "trademark application filed" with the number, never "registered". Once the mark is published, the application-number lookup finds its Bulletin entry, though it is not a DoI status tracker.
Can subcontractors and partners use the mark?
Only with permission. Sec. 21D(1) lets the owner transfer a mark or approve its use in writing, and Sec. 21D(2) has both parties file a joint application so the DoI records it. Without that filing, the register names only the owner.
Site contracts should cover signs, uniforms and removing the brand after completion. Ask a lawyer to check the legal effect where a developer, a contractor and a project company share one name.
How long does the registration last?
Sec. 18D gives a trademark seven years from the registration date on its registration certificate, not the filing date. Under Sec. 23B it is renewable any number of times, seven years at a time. Renew within 35 days after expiry; a six-month late window follows on a fine, then the registration is cancelled.
Use matters too, because Sec. 18C lets the DoI cancel a mark not brought into use within one year of registration. The renewal calculator works out your dates, and our trademark renewal team tracks every class.
What does a construction trademark not protect?
A trademark protects the sign that identifies your services, not a building design, an engineering method or a set of drawings. A distinctive product shape, such as a moulded block, may suit our industrial design service; a new technical method needs patent advice.
How would one contractor map its brand?
Here is an illustration, not a real case. "Seti Span" builds bridges, offers structural design and sells branded non-metal panels. Construction points to Class 37, engineering design to Class 42 and the panels to Class 19, so it needs three applications.
It searches the word and logo, files in the operating company's name and writes three focused specifications. Project software launched later gets its own class review.
Common mistakes in construction trademark filing
- Treating the OCR name approval or a contractor licence as brand protection.
- Filing design, property and materials all under Class 37.
- Searching one spelling in one class.
- Naming the wrong company as the owner.
- Printing hoardings before the search and filing.
- Calling a pending or published mark "registered".
- Promising a registration date in a tender.
In short
Map what you sell before you file. Class 37 covers the building work, Class 42 the design, Class 36 the property and Classes 19 and 6 the materials, with one application each. Search first, file in the right owner's name and say "registered" only once the certificate arrives.
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Planning a construction brand? Start with our trademark registration service, or contact IP Sewa for a class plan.
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