How to Register a Trademark in Bangladesh

A Nepali business registers a trademark in Bangladesh by filing with the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT) in Dhaka under the Trademarks Act 2009, usually through a Bangladeshi lawyer or registered trademark agent. A Nepal registration does not reach Bangladesh, and neither country belongs to the Madrid System.

Key takeaways

• A Department of Industry (DoI) registration protects your mark in Nepal only.
• Neither Nepal nor Bangladesh is in the Madrid System, so every Bangladeshi filing is a national one.
• Paris Convention priority lets a Bangladeshi filing made within six months keep your Nepal filing date.
• An owner without a Bangladeshi business gives a local address for service and uses a lawyer or registered agent.
• Anyone may oppose an advertised Bangladeshi application within two months.
• Registration lasts seven years from the filing date, then renews for ten years at a time.

Why doesn't a Nepal trademark protect you in Bangladesh?

Trademark rights are national. Under Nepal's Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965, a mark is protected once the DoI registers it, and that register covers Nepal alone. Bangladesh keeps its own Register of Trademarks under Sec. 4 of its 2009 Act.

The rule runs both ways. Nepal's Sec. 21B gives a foreign registration no validity here until it is registered in Nepal, and Bangladesh's Sec. 25(1) gives the exclusive right only to a proprietor on its Register.

An unregistered owner is weak in Bangladesh: Sec. 24 bars any infringement action over an unregistered mark, leaving only passing off. The first-to-file principle generally applies in Nepal, and Bangladesh's Sec. 15(2) considers applications in the order they arrive.

Who registers trademarks in Bangladesh?

The Trademarks Unit of the DPDT is the Trademarks Registry under Sec. 3. Its head, once called the Registrar, has been titled Director General since a 2023 amendment.

DPDT's filing guidance names its head office in Motijheel, Dhaka, and a branch in Chattogram, and its website links to an online application. Appeals from final decisions of the registry go to the High Court Division under Sec. 100.

Which law governs trademarks in Bangladesh?

The Trademarks Act 2009 (Act No. XIX of 2009) received assent on 24 March 2009 and is deemed in force from 1 July 2008. Its official English text was published in the Bangladesh Gazette on 31 August 2010, and WIPO Lex lists the Act with that translation.

A 2015 amendment changed parts of it, and the Trademarks Rules 2015 set the forms. One change raised the limit for finishing an opposition from 120 to 330 working days, so let a Bangladeshi lawyer confirm the current wording.

Can a Nepali business use the Madrid System to reach Bangladesh?

No. WIPO's party table for the Madrid Protocol, read on 18 October 2026, lists 117 members, and neither Bangladesh nor Nepal is among them.

Even a Nepali group with a genuine company in India cannot use Madrid here, because an international registration only reaches member countries. The live list is on WIPO's Madrid Protocol party table, and our India guide covers the Madrid question next door.

How does Paris Convention priority link Nepal and Bangladesh?

Both countries belong to the Paris Convention: Bangladesh since 3 March 1991 and Nepal since 22 June 2001, per WIPO's party table. Article 4C of the Convention sets a six-month priority period for trademarks, counted from the first filing.

Bangladesh applies this in Sec. 120. If you file within six months of your Nepal application, with its full particulars and a certified copy, the Bangladeshi registration dates from your Nepal filing. Under Sec. 120(3), no damages run from before the Bangladeshi filing. Section 119 ties convention status to equal treatment of Bangladeshi citizens, so ask your Bangladeshi lawyer to confirm the claim.

Priority rests on the Nepal filing date, not the certificate, which typically takes 12–14 months (6–8 months in the smoothest cases). If your Nepal filing is older than six months, file in Bangladesh now. Our trademark registration service handles the Nepal filing.

What does a Bangladeshi application need from a Nepali owner?

Section 15(4) lets an applicant with no business in Bangladesh file at the registry office covering the address for service it gives there. Under Sec. 113, steps may be taken by an authorised agent who is a legal practitioner or a registered trademark agent.

DPDT's filing guidance asks for form TM-1, a label of the mark, the goods or services, the owner's legal details, and a power of attorney on form TM-10 when an agent files. A word in a script other than Bangla or English needs a translation and a transliteration. Prepare in this order:

1. Fix the owner and the mark. Use the exact legal name, and write "Proposed to be used" if the mark is not yet in use.
2. List the goods and services. Draft wording for each class you will sell; the NICE class finder gives a first direction.
3. Screen for conflicts. DPDT offers a paid search on form TM-4, answered within two weeks; our trademark conflict checker screens Nepal only.
4. Collect priority papers. Note your Nepal filing date and number, and obtain a certified copy of the DoI application.
5. Sign the power of attorney. Sign and stamp it as your Bangladeshi lawyer directs.

How do classes work in Bangladesh and Nepal?

Both countries want one application per class. Bangladesh's Sec. 15(2) requires a separate application for every class, and Sec. 2(3) ties its classes to the Nice Agreement's list. Nepal's DoI uses NICE classification under Sec. 18A, with the same one-class rule in Sec. 18A(2).

So a Nepali snack maker selling biscuits and juice files two Bangladeshi applications, in Classes 30 and 32, just as it would at home.

Which marks will Bangladesh refuse?

Section 8 bars obscene, unlawful or deceptive marks, marks likely to hurt religious feelings, unauthorised state emblems, and applications made in bad faith.

Section 10 blocks marks identical or deceptively similar to a registered mark for the same goods, and protects marks well known in Bangladesh. Section 11 lets the registry ask for written consent where a mark suggests a link with a living person. DPDT's guidance adds that a label may not show ®, BSTI or ISO marks without proof.

What happens after the application is filed?

The registry may accept the application, refuse it with reasons, or accept it with changes under Sec. 15(5). An accepted application is advertised under Sec. 17 in DPDT's Trademarks Journal; its guidance says an unpaid journal fee one month after notice means the application is abandoned.

Under Sec. 18(1), any person may oppose within two months of the advertisement. The applicant then has two months from receiving it to file a counter-statement, or the application is abandoned. A party who neither lives nor trades in Bangladesh may be asked for security for costs.

If no one opposes, the applicant asks for the certificate on form TM-11. Section 20(3) sets a target of 150 working days from filing to certificate where there is no defect, objection or opposition.

How long does a Bangladeshi registration last?

Section 22(1) grants seven years. Under Sec. 20(1) the registration takes effect from the application date, which counts as the date of registration, so a priority claim moves it earlier still. Renewals then run for ten years at a time under Sec. 22(2).

A mark removed for an unpaid renewal fee can be restored within one year of expiry under Sec. 22(4). Use matters too: Sec. 42(1)(b) lets an aggrieved person seek removal after five continuous years without genuine use. Nepal is stricter: Sec. 18C allows cancellation of a mark not used within 1 year of registration.

Nepal also counts the term differently: seven years from registration under Sec. 18D, renewable any number of times under Sec. 23B, within 35 days from expiry plus a six-month late window on a fine. Our renewal service tracks the Nepal dates.

How do you stop a Bangladeshi distributor taking your brand?

File before you send samples or sign anything. A distributor who files your name first sits ahead of you in the queue under Sec. 15(2).

You still have tools. Section 8(g) bars applications made in bad faith, a ground to oppose a copied filing, and Sec. 24(2) keeps passing off alive. Both cost far more than filing early.

If a partner will use your mark, record it: Sec. 44 lets a licensee be entered as a registered user, and that use counts as the owner's. Our guide to protecting your brand when exporting from Nepal covers distributor contracts.

What does Nepal's Bulletin data show about Bangladeshi brands?

Bangladeshi owners are a small group in Nepal's record. These are IP Sewa counts of marks printed in DoI Bulletins, by owner address, not official registration figures.

The classes follow the companies: Square's medicines, 13 snack and drink marks from AKC Pvt. Ltd. (several named PRAN), three PRAN marks from Agricultural Marketing Company in 2009, and Daraz Bangladesh Ltd. Dhaka appears in 55 of the 56 addresses.

Publication comes in bursts: 23 marks in 2024 and 13 in 2018, but none in the 12 latest issues. Check Bangladeshi owners with our owner search or the main trademark search.

What can IP Sewa do, and what can it not?

IP Sewa files trademarks at Nepal's Department of Industry. We do not file in Bangladesh; filings there go through lawyers or agents authorised in Bangladesh. We handle the Nepal half: a DoI application whose date and goods list can support a priority claim, plus the Nepali documents your lawyer asks for.

For that Nepal filing, a domestic company gives the DoI a notarised power of attorney attested by two witnesses, a board resolution, the label of the mark, an industry registration certificate where the business needs one, and its latest tax clearance letter. A newly formed company will not have a tax clearance yet, so confirm the DoI's current checklist.

Our trademark search service checks the Nepal register first, and our opposition team watches the Industrial Property Bulletin, where a published mark can be opposed within the 90-day opposition window. For the reverse trip, read our guide to trademark registration in Nepal for Bangladeshi companies.

Common mistakes Nepali brands make in Bangladesh

• Letting six months pass. The priority window closes quietly.
• Briefing a distributor first. File before samples or price lists leave Kathmandu.
• Missing the two-month window. Bangladeshi oppositions close sooner than Nepal's 90-day opposition window.
• Skipping the translation. A Devanagari word on the label needs a translation and a transliteration.
• Diarising the wrong date. Bangladeshi terms count from filing; Nepal's count from registration.

What does a well-timed filing look like?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. "Phewa Crunch", a Pokhara snack maker, files its Class 30 marks at the DoI on 1 February. A Dhaka importer wants a trial shipment by October.

In April the company appoints a Bangladeshi lawyer and signs a power of attorney on form TM-10. The lawyer files before the end of July, claiming the Nepal date with a certified copy of the DoI application, so both filings are pending in the company's own name when the shipment lands.

In short: how does a Nepali business register a trademark in Bangladesh?

File in Nepal, then file with the DPDT through a Bangladeshi lawyer or registered agent within six months to keep your Nepal date. Expect a two-month opposition window and seven years of protection from filing, then ten-year renewals. Nepal marks are published on the DoI's Bulletin page.

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Planning a brand for Nepal and Bangladesh? Start with our Nepal trademark registration, or contact IP Sewa about your Bangladesh plan.