A Nepali business registers a trademark in the UAE by filing with the UAE Ministry of Economy under Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2021, through a UAE registration agent. A Nepal registration does not reach the UAE, and Nepal is outside the Madrid System, so the UAE needs its own application.
Key takeaways
- A Department of Industry (DoI) registration protects your mark in Nepal only.
- The UAE joined the Madrid System in 2021, but Nepal has not, so there is no international route from Kathmandu.
- Paris Convention priority lets a UAE filing made within six months keep your Nepal filing date.
- The Ministry says an owner located outside the UAE must apply through a registration agent.
- Objections to a published UAE mark must be filed within 30 days.
- UAE protection lasts ten years from the filing date and can be renewed.
Why doesn't a Nepal trademark cover the UAE?
Trademark rights are national. Under Sec. 16(1) of Nepal's Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965, title comes from registration at the DoI, and that register covers Nepal alone. The UAE keeps its own Trademarks Register under Article 5 of its law.
The rule runs both ways: Nepal's Sec. 21B gives a foreign registration no validity here until the mark is registered in Nepal, and UAE Article 17(2) gives the exclusive right to the owner of a mark registered there.
Timing matters in both places too. The first-to-file principle generally applies in Nepal, and UAE Article 18(1) treats whoever registers a mark as its sole owner.
Who registers trademarks in the UAE?
The Ministry of Economy examines, publishes and registers marks. Its website now carries the name Ministry of Economy and Tourism, and applications are made online through its portal.
Refusals go first to the Trademarks Grievances Committee, chaired by a judge under Article 14, and then on appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal.
Which law governs UAE trademarks?
Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2021 on Trademarks was issued on 20 September 2021 and came into force on 2 January 2022 under its Article 61, repealing the old Federal Law No. 37 of 1992. The record is on WIPO Lex's page for the UAE law.
The law is broad about what a mark can be. Article 2 covers names, logos, colours, packaging, three-dimensional and hologram marks, and even a distinctive sound or smell. Nepal's Sec. 2(c) definition is narrower.
Many details, including renewal deadlines and fees, sit in an Implementing Regulation, so a UAE agent should confirm each step.
Can a Nepali business use the Madrid System to reach the UAE?
Not from Nepal. WIPO's party table for the Madrid Protocol, read on 18 October 2026, lists 117 members. The UAE acceded on 28 September 2021, in force 28 December 2021; Nepal is absent.
Article 2(1) of the Protocol lets an applicant file through a member's office only as a national, someone domiciled there, or the holder of a "real and effective industrial or commercial establishment" there. A Nepal filing therefore cannot designate the UAE.
A Nepali group with a genuine operating company in a Madrid country may qualify through that office, as our India guide explains for India; a UAE attorney should confirm it first. The live list is on WIPO's Madrid Protocol party table.
How does Paris Convention priority link Nepal and the UAE?
Both countries belong to the Paris Convention: the UAE since 19 September 1996 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.
The UAE applies this in Article 11: you attach a copy of the earlier application and a statement of its date, number and country. Priority covers only the goods and services in your Nepal application, so a wider UAE list gets the later date for the extra items. Our export brand protection guide lists other markets that accept the claim.
For most Nepali brands, Nepal comes first, and a DoI application gives you a date to carry into the UAE. Priority rests on the Nepal filing date, not the certificate, which typically takes about 12–14 months (6–8 months in the smoothest cases). If your Nepal filing is already older than six months, file in the UAE now. Our trademark registration service handles the Nepal filing.
What does the UAE application need from a Nepali owner?
The Ministry's service page states that if the owner is located outside the country, the application must be submitted through a registration agent. It also asks for a copy of the mark and a power of attorney that is notarised and legally translated.
Name the real owner. A filing in a founder's name creates a transfer job later, and Article 28(3) makes a transfer bind third parties only once it is entered in the Register. Prepare the work in this order:
- Fix the owner and the mark. Use the exact legal name, and the mark as it will appear on UAE packs.
- List the goods and services. Draft wording for each class you will sell; the NICE class finder gives a first direction.
- Screen for conflicts. Ask your agent to search the UAE register. Our trademark conflict checker screens the Nepal side only.
- Collect priority papers. Note your Nepal filing date and number, and arrange the DoI's proof of filing.
- Sign the power of attorney. Have it notarised and translated as your agent directs.
How do classes work in the UAE and in Nepal?
The UAE joined the Nice Agreement with effect from 18 April 2022, per WIPO's party table, so its classes follow the 45-class international list. UAE Article 8 allows a mark to be registered for one or more classes, so ask your agent how many UAE applications your list needs.
Nepal is not a party to that Agreement, but the DoI uses NICE classification under Sec. 18A, and Sec. 18A(2) needs a separate application for each class.
Which marks will the UAE refuse?
Article 3 bars marks with no distinctive character, marks breaching public morals or order, flags and state emblems, Red Crescent or Red Cross symbols, and marks resembling religious symbols.
Three grounds catch exporters. Geographical names are barred where they would confuse buyers about origin, so a "Himalayan" or "Everest" mark needs care. Another person's name or photo needs their consent. A mark that includes words such as "Registered" is refused.
Article 3 also blocks marks similar to earlier ones for related goods, and Article 4 protects well-known marks, so search the UAE register too.
What happens after the UAE application is filed?
Article 12(3) says the Ministry decides within 90 days of filing, and its service page puts the study at 20 working days. If it asks for changes, Article 12(2) gives you 30 days to respond, or the application is treated as abandoned.
An accepted mark is published in the Ministry's Bulletin before registration. Under Article 15(2), any interested party may object within 30 days of publication, and the Ministry counts that period from the date the Bulletin is issued.
After the objection period you pay the final fee, and the Ministry says the registration certificate issues within 30 days. Article 17 makes the registration effective from the filing date.
How long does a UAE registration last?
Article 21 grants ten years from the date of filing, renewable for similar periods without fresh examination. The Ministry's renewal page allows an application up to six months after the term ends; after that, Article 22(2) treats the mark as cancelled as of its expiry date.
Use matters too. Under Article 24(3), anyone with an interest may ask the Ministry to cancel a mark unused for five consecutive years. Nepal is stricter: Sec. 18C allows cancellation of a mark not used within one year of registration.
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. Our renewal service tracks the Nepal dates; your UAE agent tracks the UAE ones.
How do you stop a UAE distributor or fair visitor taking your brand?
File before you hand over samples or sign. A distributor who files your name first holds the UAE application, and you start behind.
A genuine first user gets some help: Article 18(2) lets it ask the Ministry to cancel someone else's registration within five years, unless it consented. After five years of continuous registration and use without challenge, Article 18(1) makes ownership hard to dispute unless bad faith is proven.
Article 23 gives temporary protection to marks shown at officially recognised international exhibitions in the UAE, on conditions; treat it as a safety net, not a plan.
Put any licence in writing, as Article 31 requires. Our guide to protecting your brand when exporting from Nepal covers distributor contracts in depth.
What does Nepal's Bulletin data show about UAE brands?
Owners with UAE addresses are a small but steady group. These are IP Sewa counts of marks printed in DoI Bulletins, by the owner address on each entry, not official registration figures.
| Measure | IP Sewa figure | How we counted it |
|---|---|---|
| Marks with a UAE owner address | 228 (0.3%) | Of 71,842 marks in 123 Bulletins to 16 October 2026. |
| Rank among owner countries | 15th of 100 | Between Thailand (237) and Denmark (207). |
| Distinct UAE owners | 77 | Owner names grouped, address variants merged. |
| Largest UAE owner | Lulu Center LLC, 29 marks | Spread across 14 classes. |
| Top classes | Classes 3, 34 and 39 | 32, 25 and 20 marks. |
| First published | NIKAI, Class 9 | Nikai Gulf FZCO, Vol. 2 No. 5, 17 October 2007. |
| Share of the 12 latest issues | 0.4% | 39 of 9,652 marks, by publication date. |
The classes reflect who files: perfumes (Sterling Perfumes Industries), tobacco products, and airlines and travel, with Etihad Airways publishing its first Nepal mark in 2009. Dubai is in the city field of 122 of the 228 entries.
The trend is rising: 2026 has already brought 31 UAE marks, the most in any year. Check what UAE owners have published in Nepal 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 the UAE; UAE filings go through representatives authorised there. We handle the Nepal half: a clean DoI application whose date and goods list can support a UAE priority claim, plus the Nepali documents your UAE agent asks for.
Our trademark search service checks the Nepal register before you commit to a name, and our opposition team watches the Industrial Property Bulletin in Nepal.
Common mistakes Nepali brands make in the UAE
- Trusting the Nepal certificate. It gives no right in the UAE.
- Letting six months pass. The priority window closes quietly.
- Briefing a distributor first. File before samples or contracts leave Kathmandu.
- Missing the 30-day window. UAE objections close far faster than Nepal's 90-day opposition window.
- Using a place name carelessly. Article 3 bars geographical names that confuse buyers about origin.
- Diarising the wrong date. UAE 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. "Lali Gurans Spices", a Butwal producer, files its word and logo marks in Class 30 at the DoI on 1 March. A Dubai importer wants samples by September.
In May it appoints a UAE agent and signs a notarised, translated power of attorney. The agent files before the end of August, claiming the Nepal date with the DoI proof of filing. When the order arrives, both filings are pending in the right name.
In short: how does a Nepali business register a trademark in the UAE?
File in Nepal, then file nationally in the UAE through a registration agent within six months to keep your Nepal date. Expect a 30-day objection window 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
- How to register a trademark abroad from Nepal
- How to register a trademark in Nepal
- The trademark register of Nepal explained
Planning a brand for Nepal and the Gulf? Start with our Nepal trademark registration, or contact IP Sewa about your UAE plan.
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