A Nepali business registers a trademark in Sri Lanka by filing Form M1 with the National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO) in Colombo under the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003. A Nepal registration does not reach Sri Lanka, and neither country is in the Madrid System, so Sri Lanka needs its own application.
Key takeaways
- A Department of Industry (DoI) registration protects your mark in Nepal only.
- Neither Nepal nor Sri Lanka belongs to the Madrid System, so brand registration in Sri Lanka means a national filing at NIPO.
- Paris Convention priority lets a Sri Lankan filing made within six months keep your Nepal filing date.
- An applicant living outside Sri Lanka must give a postal address for service there, often through a Sri Lankan agent.
- Anyone may oppose a published Sri Lankan application within three months.
- Registration lasts ten years from the filing date and is renewable for further ten-year periods.
Why doesn't a Nepal trademark protect your brand in Sri Lanka?
Trademark rights stop at the border. Under Sec. 21B of Nepal's Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965, a foreign registration has no validity in Nepal until the mark is registered here, and Sri Lanka works the same way.
Sri Lanka's Sec. 102(1) says the exclusive right to a mark comes from registration, and NIPO's trademark page adds that such marks are valid only in Sri Lanka.
Speed counts. The first-to-file principle generally applies in Nepal, and Sri Lanka's Sec. 102(2) grants registration to whoever first completes a valid application or first validly claims the earliest priority.
Who registers trademarks in Sri Lanka?
Sec. 4(1) makes NIPO the sole office in Sri Lanka for registering marks, patents and industrial designs, under a Director-General (Sec. 2). NIPO says it was first set up on 1 January 1982 under a 1979 code that the 2003 Act repealed.
NIPO also offers a free online public search of its records, worth checking before you print packaging.
Which law governs Sri Lankan trademarks?
Part V of the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 covers marks and trade names. WIPO Lex lists it as Sri Lanka's main IP law, enacted on 12 November 2003, with trademark procedure filled in by Regulations No. 01 of 2006. The record is on WIPO Lex's page for the Sri Lankan Act.
Sec. 101 defines a trademark as any visible sign that distinguishes one enterprise's goods from another's. Sec. 102(3) lists names, slogans, devices, letters, numbers, labels, and combinations of colours and shapes.
The Act also has chapters on collective marks and certification marks, two categories Nepal's trade mark law does not have.
Can a Nepali business use the Madrid System to reach Sri Lanka?
No. WIPO's party table for the Madrid Protocol, read on 18 October 2026, lists 117 members, and neither Nepal nor Sri Lanka is among them. NIPO's page says plainly that Sri Lanka is not yet a member. India and the UAE are members, as our India guide and UAE guide explain; Nepal's absence still blocks that route.
One trap: Sri Lanka has belonged since 1952 to the Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods, which concerns false origin labels, not filing. The live list is on WIPO's Madrid Protocol party table.
How does Paris Convention priority link Nepal and Sri Lanka?
Both countries are in the Paris Convention: Sri Lanka since 29 December 1952 and Nepal since 22 June 2001, per WIPO's party table. Article 4C of the Convention gives trademarks a six-month priority period from the first filing.
Sri Lanka applies it in Sec. 107. Within six months of your Nepal application, you file a declaration giving its date, number, applicant and country. Within three months of the Sri Lankan filing, you supply a copy certified by the DoI.
Miss either step and Sec. 110(4) says the registration will not mention your priority. Nepal's Sec. 21C offers Paris priority in the other direction too.
Priority rests on the Nepal filing date, not the certificate, which typically takes about 12–14 months (6–8 months in the smoothest cases), so do not wait for it. Our trademark registration service handles the Nepal filing that starts the clock.
What must the Sri Lankan application contain?
NIPO says applications use Form M1. Sec. 106(1) requires a request, your name and address and, if you live abroad, a postal address for service in Sri Lanka.
It also needs five copies of the mark and a clear list of goods or services with their international class. Under Sec. 106(2), an application filed through an agent must include a power of attorney, and Sec. 109 says nothing proceeds until the fee is paid.
NIPO lists registered IP agents on its website. Name the real owner from the start: under Sec. 123(5), a later assignment binds third parties only once recorded.
How should a Nepali owner prepare?
Before your agent files:
- Fix the owner and the mark. Use the company's exact legal name and the mark as it will appear on Sri Lankan packs.
- Draft the goods and services. List what you will actually sell; the NICE class finder gives a first direction.
- Screen for conflicts. Search NIPO's records through your agent. Our trademark conflict checker covers the Nepal side only.
- Collect priority papers. Note your Nepal filing date and number, and request the DoI-certified copy early.
- Sign the power of attorney. Follow your agent's instructions on signing and notarisation.
How do classes work in Sri Lanka and in Nepal?
Neither country is party to the Nice Agreement, per WIPO's table, yet both use its 45 classes. Sec. 106(1)(d) of the Sri Lankan Act asks for the class or classes in the international classification, so ask your agent how many applications your list needs.
Nepal is stricter on paper. The DoI applies NICE classification under Sec. 18A, and Sec. 18A(2) needs a separate application for each class. A tea brand opening cafés would need Class 30 for the tea and Class 43 for the café service.
Which marks will NIPO refuse?
Sec. 103 lists objective grounds. NIPO refuses marks that describe the goods (a plain "Mountain Tea" for tea), customary terms, signs that cannot distinguish, and marks likely to mislead about source or geographical origin.
Sec. 103(1)(h) also bars a mark that is, in its ordinary meaning, a geographical name or surname, so a "Himalayan" or "Everest" brand needs care, though Sec. 103(2) lets the Director-General weigh past use.
Sec. 104 adds third-party grounds: earlier filed marks, unregistered marks already used in Sri Lanka where the applicant knew of them, and well-known marks.
What happens after the application is filed?
NIPO first checks the form. Under Sec. 110, it notifies any defect and gives three months to fix it, and the date of the fix becomes the filing date, which can cost you priority.
Next comes examination under Sec. 103 and 104. If NIPO refuses, Sec. 111(3) gives one month for written submissions, and a hearing may follow. NIPO says a final refusal can go to the Commercial High Court of Colombo; Sec. 173 allows six months to appeal.
An accepted mark is published once you pay the publication fee. NIPO says publication is in the Gazette, and Sec. 111(10) gives anyone three months from publication to oppose. That opposition period is close to Nepal's 90-day opposition window.
If an opposition arrives, Sec. 111(12) gives you three months to answer with evidence. Otherwise Sec. 111(11) says the mark is registered, and the registration certificate follows the fee.
How long does a Sri Lankan registration last?
Sec. 118 sets ten years, and treats the date NIPO received the application as the registration date. So the term runs from filing, as NIPO's page confirms. It is renewable for consecutive ten-year periods under Sec. 119, without fresh examination or opposition.
The renewal fee is due in the twelve months before expiry, with six months' grace on a surcharge. After that, Sec. 119(5) has NIPO remove the mark. Use matters too: Sec. 136 lets a court remove a mark unused in Sri Lanka for five consecutive years, and lack of funds is no excuse.
Nepal works differently: seven years from registration under Sec. 18D, renewable any number of times under Sec. 23B, within 35 days of expiry plus a six-month late window on a fine. Sec. 18C allows cancellation of a mark unused for one year after registration. Our renewal service tracks the Nepal dates; your agent tracks Sri Lanka's.
How do you stop a Sri Lankan distributor taking your brand?
File before you send samples. A distributor who files your name first holds the application.
The Act gives some help. Sec. 104(1)(f) bars a mark filed by a foreign owner's agent or representative without authority, unless justified. Under Sec. 134(3), a court challenge on Sec. 104 grounds must come within five years of the certificate.
Put any licence in writing, as Sec. 125(1) requires. Sec. 128(1) makes a licence void unless it lets the owner control quality. Our export brand protection guide covers distributor contracts.
What does Nepal's Bulletin data show about Sri Lankan brands?
Few Sri Lankan owners have published marks in Nepal. These are IP Sewa counts of marks in DoI Bulletins, by owner address, not official registration figures.
| Measure | IP Sewa figure | How we counted it |
|---|---|---|
| Marks with a Sri Lankan owner address | 12 | Of 71,842 marks in 123 Bulletins to 16 October 2026. |
| Rank among owner countries | Joint 57th of 99 | Level with five countries on 12 marks each. |
| Distinct Sri Lankan owners | 6 | Owner names grouped, address variants merged. |
| Largest owner | Hemas Manufacturing, 7 marks | Baby Cheramy, Kumarika and Clogard, in Classes 3 and 5. |
| Classes | Class 3 (6), Class 5 (3) | One each in Classes 20, 25 and 30. |
| First published | ODEL, Class 25 | Odel (Private) Limited, Vol. 2 No. 5, 17 October 2007. |
| Share of the 12 latest issues | 1 of 9,652 | By publication date, July 2025 to October 2026. |
The others are Euro Cosmetics (Viana, Class 3), Ms Darmo Exports (Damro, Class 20), Trread Works as printed (velona Cuddles, Class 5) and the Sri Lanka Tea Board. Its "Ceylon Tea Symbol of Quality" logo appears as an ordinary Class 30 entry, since Nepal's trade mark law has no certification-mark category.
For scale, Bangladesh has 56 published marks, Pakistan 11 and India 5,874. Check any owner 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 Sri Lanka; Sri Lankan filings go through representatives authorised there. We handle the Nepal half: a clean DoI application that can support a priority claim.
Our trademark search service checks Nepal's register before you commit to a name. Our opposition team watches the Industrial Property Bulletin in Nepal.
Common mistakes Nepali brands make in Sri Lanka
- Trusting the Nepal certificate. It gives no right in Sri Lanka.
- Letting six months pass. The priority window closes quietly.
- Forgetting the certified copy. Sec. 107 wants it within three months of the Sri Lankan filing.
- Briefing a distributor first. File before samples or contracts leave Kathmandu.
- Diarising the wrong date. Sri Lankan 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. "Ilam Hills Organics", a Jhapa tea packer, files its word and logo marks in Class 30 at the DoI on 10 January. A Colombo importer wants a trial order by autumn.
In March it appoints a registered Sri Lankan agent and asks the DoI for a certified copy. The agent files Form M1 in May with a priority declaration and sends the copy by August. When the order arrives, both filings are pending in the company's name.
In short: how does a Nepali business register a trademark in Sri Lanka?
File in Nepal, then file Form M1 at NIPO through a Sri Lankan agent within six months to keep your Nepal date. Expect a three-month opposition period and ten years of protection from filing. Nepal marks are published on the DoI's Bulletin page.
People also search for
- Trademark registration in India for Nepali businesses
- Trademark registration in the UAE for Nepali businesses
- How to register a trademark abroad from Nepal
- How to register a trademark in Nepal
Planning a brand for Nepal and Sri Lanka? Start with our Nepal trademark registration, or contact IP Sewa about your Colombo plan.
Comments (0)
Leave a comment
Replying to —