Trademark Registration in Nepal for Bangladeshi Companies

A Bangladeshi company registers a trademark in Nepal by filing its own national application at the Department of Industry (DoI), through a Nepal agent holding its power of attorney. A Bangladesh registration does not reach Nepal, and neither country is in the Madrid System. Filing early matters, because the first-to-file principle generally applies.

Key takeaways

• The Bangladeshi company files in its own name; a Nepal agent acts for it under a power of attorney.
• WIPO's Madrid table lists neither Bangladesh nor Nepal, so every Nepal filing is national.
• A Bangladeshi application made in the last six months can give the Nepal filing its date under the Paris Convention.
• Nepal takes one NICE class per application (Sec. 18A(2)).
• A published mark can be opposed within 90 days of its publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin.
• Protection lasts seven years from registration and is renewable any number of times.
• IP Sewa counts 56 published Bangladesh-address marks, none in the 12 latest issues.

Can a Bangladeshi company register a trademark in Nepal?

Yes. Under Sec. 16(1) of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965, a person acquires title to a trademark upon registration at the Department under Sec. 18, and the section does not limit that to Nepali businesses. The Bangladeshi company is the applicant and becomes the owner. It does not need a Nepal subsidiary to hold the mark.

Sec. 20 lets any person appoint an attorney or legal practitioner to act under the Act. Whatever that attorney does counts as the owner's own act.

Our advocate's note adds that foreign applicants file through a local agent with a power of attorney. The agent runs the file but never becomes the owner.

Does a Bangladesh registration protect the brand in Nepal?

No. Sec. 21B says the title to a trademark registered in a foreign country is not valid in Nepal unless the person concerned registers it in Nepal. A certificate from Dhaka's Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks gives no right here on its own.

The Madrid System cannot bridge the gap. WIPO's Madrid Protocol party table, read on 18 October 2026, lists 117 members and neither Bangladesh nor Nepal. Every Nepal filing is therefore a national one.

The home certificate still helps. Sec. 21C lets the Department register a mark already registered abroad without conducting enquiries when the application encloses the foreign certificate. The DoI decides each file, so treat it as a benefit, not a shortcut.

Why should a Bangladeshi company file before entering Nepal?

Because title comes from registration, the first-to-file principle generally applies. Sec. 18(1) also lets the DoI refuse a mark already registered in another person's name. An importer, distributor or copycat who files your brand first can leave you arguing from behind.

So file before samples, price lists or a launch reach Nepal. Our trademark registration service files in the company's own name from the start.

Agree in writing that the distributor will not file the mark, and record any permitted use with the DoI: Sec. 21D needs a joint application to approve another person's use.

Search before you file. Check the exact name, spelling variants, sound-alikes, Bangla and English versions, and the logo. IP Sewa's trademark search covers the 71,500+ marks published in DoI Bulletins; it does not show registration status or unpublished applications, so a clean result is not clearance.

Test close names in the conflict checker, or ask our trademark search and clearance team for a written opinion before committing to several classes.

How does Paris Convention priority help a Bangladeshi filer?

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

In Nepal, the 2006 amendment added a sentence to Sec. 21C promising the facility of the Paris Convention. If the company files in Nepal within six months of its Bangladeshi application, it can ask the DoI to treat the Nepal filing as made on the earlier date. The claim needs a certified English copy of the earlier filing receipt.

Miss the six months and you simply file without priority. Our guide to the Paris Convention in Nepal covers the treaty.

Who files the application, and what documents are needed?

A Nepal agent files it, on the strength of a power of attorney signed by the company. Our advocate's note describes that document as notarised, signed, sealed and attested by two witnesses. Ask the agent for the wording before signing, because a defect means signing and couriering it again.

The same note lists the rest of a foreign applicant's file: the application form, a board resolution, the label of the mark and a notarised or certified English copy of the home registration certificate. Priority papers join them only if you claim priority.

Translation and certification rules can change, so confirm the current checklist with the agent and the DoI's Industrial Property Section before originals are signed or sent.

How many applications does a Bangladeshi company need?

One for each class. Sec. 18A(2) requires a separate application for goods or services in different categories, and the DoI uses the NICE classification for those categories under Sec. 18A. Classify what you will sell in Nepal, not the whole home range.

Daraz Bangladesh Ltd., for example, has three published entries for the same word, "daraz", in Classes 18, 35 and 39, all printed in February 2019. Each class was its own application. The NICE class finder gives a first direction for your list.

What does Nepal's register show about Bangladeshi brands?

IP Sewa counts 56 published marks with a Bangladesh owner address among the 71,842 printed in 123 Bulletins up to 16 October 2026. That places Bangladesh 36th of the 99 owner countries, far behind India (5,874 marks) and China (3,869).

With owner names grouped so each company counts once, the 56 marks belong to 14 owners; one misspelt company name was merged by hand. The table shows where they file, using the products named in each entry.

Only two of the 56 marks are in the service classes 35 to 45. These are counts of published entries, not official registration figures. You can browse each owner with our owner search.

What can a new filer learn from those 56 marks?

First, keep the owner name identical. Agricultural Marketing filed PRAN in Classes 29, 30 and 32 on the same day in November 2008, and the Bulletin printed the owner three ways: "Agricultural Marketig Company Ltd.", "Agricultural Marketing Co. Ltd." and "Agricultural Marketing Limited". Variations like these make a portfolio harder to prove, renew or transfer.

Second, every product name is its own filing. Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. filed 23 product names on 26 July 2022, all word marks in Class 5, and all 23 appeared in one issue, Vol. 18 No. 7, on 4 October 2024.

Third, both forms are common. Of the 56, 30 are word-only marks and 26 combine a word with a label.

What are the steps from filing to certificate?

1. Fix the owner. Use the company's exact legal name and address on every document.
2. Choose classes. List the goods and services for Nepal, one application per class.
3. Search. Check the published marks and close variants before filing.
4. Sign the power of attorney. Follow the agent's wording, then courier the originals.
5. File and claim priority. The agent submits each application with four specimens of the mark (Sec. 17), plus any priority papers.
6. Answer examination. The DoI investigates and gives you a chance to be heard before deciding (Sec. 18(1)).
7. Watch the Bulletin. Note the publication date, because the opposition window starts there.
8. Collect the registration certificate. If no opposition succeeds, pay the registration fee and check every detail on the certificate (Sec. 18(2)).

How long does registration in Nepal take?

An unopposed trademark typically takes about 12–14 months from filing to registration certificate, and 6–8 months only in the smoothest cases. Both are estimates, not promises.

Document corrections from abroad, examination replies and an opposition can each add months. Across all owners, the median gap from filing to publication in the 12 latest issues was about 3.5 months.

Bangladeshi entries show the range. SWISH, filed on 2 October 2024, was published on 23 January 2025, under four months later. GLOBATT, filed by Rahimafrooz Batteries Limited in June 2010, was not published until July 2018.

What happens when the mark is published?

A published trademark can be opposed within 90 days of its publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin, counting the publication day as day one. The DoI's own notice in its 8 July 2025 Bulletin (Vol. 19 No. 5) asked objectors to file within 90 days. Rely on the deadline the Department states and act before the last day.

If a copy of your brand appears in a new issue, our opposition and enforcement team can assess it while the opposition period is open. Back issues are on the DoI's Bulletin page.

How long does a Nepal trademark last?

Sec. 18D gives a registered mark a term of 7 years from the date of registration, not filing. Under Sec. 23B it is renewable any number of times, seven years at a time.

Renewal is due within 35 days from expiry. A six-month late window then opens on payment of a fine, after which the registration is cancelled automatically.

Use matters too. Sec. 18C lets the DoI cancel a registered mark that is not brought into use within one year of registration, after inquiries. The renewal calculator and our renewal service keep the Nepal dates apart from Bangladesh's.

What does a Nepal trademark cost a Bangladeshi company?

The cost is per application, so it grows with each class and product name. It has three parts: the DoI's application and registration fees, the agent's professional fee, and notarising and couriering the documents from Bangladesh.

We do not publish prices, because the fee schedule can change. The trademark fee calculator sets out the DoI fee structure.

For filing in Bangladesh itself, read our guide to trademark registration in Bangladesh, for Nepali businesses going the other way.

How would a Bangladeshi clothing exporter plan it?

Imagine "Padma Loom", a Bangladeshi clothing company that files its word mark in Dhaka on 1 March and plans a Nepal launch with a Kathmandu distributor. This is an illustration, not a real case. Its Nepal agent files in Class 25 before the end of August, claiming the March date.

The distribution agreement says the distributor will not file the mark, and Padma Loom adds Class 35 only if it will run its own branded shops. When the mark appears in the Bulletin, the company diarises the 90-day window, then the seven-year term from the certificate date.

What common mistakes do Bangladeshi companies make in Nepal?

• Assuming Madrid or a Dhaka certificate covers Nepal. Neither does.
• Letting the distributor file. Whoever files becomes the applicant on the record.
• Spelling the owner several ways. Use one exact legal name throughout.
• Letting six months pass. The priority window closes quietly.
• Putting several classes on one form. Nepal needs one application per class.
• Registering and never using. A mark unused for a year after registration risks cancellation.

In short

A Bangladeshi company files its own national application at Nepal's DoI through a Nepal agent with a power of attorney, one class per application, ideally within six months of its Bangladeshi filing. Expect a 90-day opposition window after publication and seven years of protection from registration, renewable indefinitely.

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Planning a Nepal launch from Bangladesh? Start with our trademark registration service or contact IP Sewa about your classes.