Trademark Registration Number Explained (Nepal)

A trademark registration number (reg no) is the number on the certificate the Department of Industry issues once your mark is registered. It is not the same as the application number you get when you file, or the serial number printed beside an entry in the bulletin. Each number does a different job.

Key takeaways

• The application number is given when you file and identifies your file at the Department of Industry (DoI).
• The serial number in the Industrial Property Bulletin only orders entries within one issue. It restarts at 1 in every issue.
• The registration number appears on the registration certificate, after examination, publication and the 90-day opposition window.
• So a serial number and a registration number are not the same, and a bulletin entry carries no registration number.
• One application covers one NICE class, so a brand in three classes has three files and three sets of numbers.
• Title to a trademark comes from registration (Sec. 16). An application number alone does not let you use ®.

What is a trademark registration number in Nepal?

It is the identifier the DoI gives a completed registration. It is printed on the registration certificate, which the Act prescribes and which follows only after the mark clears examination and the opposition window.

That number, read with the mark, the owner and the class on the same certificate, points to one registered mark. A company with several marks, or one mark in several classes, holds several registrations, and each should be checked on its own.

Is the serial number the same as the registration number?

No. This is the most common mix-up. The serial number is the "1.", "2.", "3." printed before each entry in an Industrial Property Bulletin. It exists only to order the entries in that issue.

In all of the more than 120 bulletins in our archive, the serial numbering starts again at 1 in each issue. So serial 12 in one issue and serial 12 in the next are unrelated marks. To cite an entry, give the bulletin volume, issue number and serial together.

How is the application number different from the registration number?

The application number is given when you file. It follows your file through examination, publication and any opposition, and it is printed in your bulletin entry. In our archive almost every entry carries a six-digit application number.

The registration number comes at the end, with the certificate. Until then, the application number is the one that matters, and it records your filing date, which counts in a first-to-file system like Nepal’s.

When does each number appear?

In order: the application number at filing, the serial number when the accepted mark is published in the bulletin, and the registration number when the DoI registers the mark and issues the certificate.

An unopposed application usually takes about 12 to 14 months from filing to certificate; six to eight months happens only in the smoothest cases. The 90-day opposition window after publication is part of that time (Sec. 21A).

What does a bulletin entry show?

Each entry follows the same layout: serial number, applicant name and address, mark name, mark type, application number, filing date, NICE class and goods or services. The filing date is printed in the Nepali Bikram Sambat calendar, such as 2081.04.15.

There is no registration number in the entry, because publication comes before registration. Our trademark search covers marks published in DoI bulletins, and the application number lookup finds an entry from its number. Neither shows whether a mark was later registered.

Where do you find a registered trademark number?

On the registration certificate the DoI issued for that mark and class. If you are the owner, keep a clear scan with your company records. You will need the number to renew, record a change of owner or act against a copycat.

If you are checking someone else’s claim, ask for a copy of the certificate and compare the mark, owner and class. For a firm answer on current status, ask the Department of Industry; the DoI website also posts each bulletin.

What does a registration number prove?

Under the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965, title to a trademark is acquired on registration (Sec. 16). The certificate and its number are your evidence of that title, for the mark, owner and class shown.

It does not settle every dispute on its own. The DoI, which hears infringement and opposition cases as a quasi-judicial body, still looks at the class covered, the goods involved, how the marks are used and whether they are confusingly similar. A registration puts you in a much stronger position; it does not decide the outcome for you.

What if you have lost the certificate?

The DoI can issue a duplicate registration certificate on request, and it can record amendments and endorsements on a certificate, such as a changed address. Keep the application number and registration number somewhere safe apart from the certificate itself, because they are what the DoI will ask for. If you are unsure which record to request, ask us.

Does each NICE class get its own number?

Yes. Nepal uses the NICE Classification of 45 classes, and the Act needs a separate application for each class (Sec. 18A). Each application has its own application number and, if registered, its own registration.

Imagine a restaurant brand that also bottles a chilli sauce. Class 43 may cover the restaurant and Class 30 the sauce. That is two files, two application numbers and, later, two certificates. The NICE class finder helps you list the classes.

Which number should you quote?

Before registration, almost everything runs on the application number. After registration, quote the registration number for renewal, enforcement and assignment. When you oppose someone else’s mark, give its application number and the bulletin it appeared in.

How do you get a registration number in Nepal?

1. Search first. Check similar names and logos. The conflict checker flags close names.
2. Choose each class. File one application per class.
3. File at the DoI. The application goes in on the prescribed form with specimens of the mark (Sec. 17), and you receive the application number. A foreign owner files through a Nepal-based agent with a power of attorney.
4. Answer examination. The DoI checks the mark against earlier marks and the grounds for refusal (Sec. 18).
5. Clear the bulletin. The mark is published, and anyone may oppose it within 90 days.
6. Receive the certificate. It carries the registration number and starts a seven-year term.

Our trademark registration service handles each step. If you file through our portal, you also get an IP Sewa reference for tracking; that is our number, not a DoI number.

How long does a registration stay valid?

Seven years from the date of registration, renewable in further seven-year terms without limit. Renewal is due within 35 days of expiry, with a six-month late period on a fine, after which the registration is cancelled (Sec. 23B). The Act is on the Nepal Law Commission site.

A registered mark should also be used: the DoI may cancel one not used within a year of registration (Sec. 18C). Our renewal service and the renewal calculator help with dates.

What happens to the number when a mark changes hands?

An assignment is recorded at the DoI on a joint application by the old and new owner, and the DoI records the transfer in its register. An old certificate may therefore show a past owner, so check that the ownership record is current before relying on it.

What are the common mistakes with trademark numbers?

• Treating a serial number as a registration number. It only orders one bulletin issue.
• Printing ® on an application number. The Act bars presenting a mark as registered before it is (Sec. 18B).
• Assuming one number covers every class. Each class is its own file.
• Relying on a foreign registration number. Nepal is not part of the Madrid System, so a foreign number gives no rights here.
• Confusing a company registration number with a trademark. The Office of the Company Registrar numbers companies; the DoI registers trademarks.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. A distributor is offered a supply deal by a brand owner who says the mark is "registered, number 12". The distributor checks and finds that 12 is the serial beside the mark in a recent bulletin. The mark was published, not registered, and it is still inside the opposition window.

The distributor asks for the application number and, later, a copy of the certificate. That tells it what it needs: the mark is pending, and a registration number will follow only if nobody opposes it successfully.

In short

The serial number orders one bulletin issue, the application number follows your file from day one, and the registration number arrives with the certificate. Quote the one that matches the stage, and never treat a serial or application number as proof of registration.

People also search for

• What does a Nepal trademark certificate show?
• What is the Industrial Property Bulletin?
• How does Nepal’s trademark register work?
• How does the trademark application form work?
• What does the Department of Industry do?

Have a number and not sure what it means? Send it to us with the mark and we will tell you what stage it shows. This article is general information, not legal advice.