An alcohol brand in Nepal is protected by registering its name or logo as a trademark at the Department of Industry (DoI). Spirits, wine and cider go in Class 33; beer goes in Class 32 with soft drinks. Both are among the busiest classes in Nepal's published record, so clear the name before you print a label.
Key takeaways
- Class 33 covers alcoholic drinks except beer; beer, non-alcoholic beer and mixers are Class 32.
- Bars, liquor shops and contract brewing are services in Classes 43, 35 and 40.
- IP Sewa counts 5,770 published Class 33 entries, second only to Class 30, and 3,696 in Class 32.
- Almost nine in ten Class 33 entries name an owner in Nepal.
- Words like PREMIUM, GOLD and APPLE recur hundreds of times and distinguish nothing.
- A trademark is not permission to make or sell alcohol.
- Registration lasts seven years from the registration date and is renewable without limit.
What does a trademark protect for an alcohol brand?
Sec. 2(c) of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 defines a trademark as a word, symbol, picture or combination that distinguishes your goods or services from others'. For a drinks business that means the brand name, the logo and a distinctive label device.
It protects the sign that tells buyers who made the bottle, not the recipe. "Mountain Reserve" for a whisky and a stylised yak-head logo would each need their own filing decision. Under Sec. 16(1), title comes only "upon registration", so years of sales do not make a name yours.
A company name is different. Registration at the Office of the Company Registrar (OCR) records the business, not the brand, as our guide to trade names and trademarks explains.
Which class covers beer, and which covers spirits?
The DoI files marks under the NICE classification, WIPO's list of 45 classes. In the 13th edition, version 2026, Class 33 reads "Alcoholic beverages, except beers; alcoholic preparations for making beverages". Class 32 opens with "Beers", followed by non-alcoholic drinks, waters and juices.
So the line follows the type of drink, not alcohol content. WIPO lists non-alcoholic beer, beer-based cocktails and de-alcoholised drinks in Class 32, and alcoholic seltzers, rice wine, sake, soju, mead and arrack in Class 33. A mixer sold for cocktails stays in Class 32.
Our pages on Class 33 for alcoholic drinks and Class 32 for beer and soft drinks cover the wording in depth, and WIPO's Nice Classification page has the current headings.
Which other classes might a drinks business need?
Sec. 18A(2) requires a separate application for each class, so count your classes before you count your costs. The table shows the usual fits.
| Business | Likely class | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Distillery or winery | 33 | Spirits, wine, cider and alcoholic essences. |
| Brewery | 32 | Beer, including non-alcoholic beer. |
| Brewery that also distils | 32 and 33 | One application for each class. |
| Taproom, bar or brewpub | 43 | Serving drinks is a service, not a good. |
| Liquor shop or online store | 35 | Retail of other makers' bottles. |
| Contract brewer or distiller | 40 | WIPO lists brewing and distillation for others here. |
| Branded glasses and openers | 21 | Merchandise such as beer mugs and bottle openers. |
File for what you sell now and will launch soon, not every class that sounds related. The NICE class finder tests your wording first.
How crowded is the alcohol shelf in Nepal's register?
Very. Across more than 120 Industrial Property Bulletin issues, up to Volume 20, Number 8 (16 October 2026), IP Sewa counts 5,770 published Class 33 entries. Only Class 30, the tea, coffee and spices class, has more, with 10,759.
Class 32 holds 3,696 entries and ranks sixth. Together the two make up about 13% of the 71,842 marks we index, roughly one in eight. These are IP Sewa counts of published Bulletin entries, not official DoI statistics, and show no registration status.
Who files alcohol trademarks in Nepal?
Mostly Nepali producers. In Class 33, 89% of entries give a Nepali address, and companies with "distillery" in their name own 3,006 of the 5,770, just over half. The ten busiest Class 33 owners are all Nepali companies, eight with "distillery" in their name.
The shelf is also concentrated. We group owner names so address variants count once, which gives 721 Class 33 owners. The 146 of them with ten or more entries hold 4,102, about 71% of the class.
Foreign owners hold 590 Class 33 entries (10%) from 36 other countries, led by India, the United Kingdom and the United States. In Class 32, breweries own only 525 entries, about 14%; juice, water and energy-drink makers dominate it.
Is the drinks register still growing?
Yes, and Class 32 is catching up. Counted by Bulletin publication date, Class 33 grew from 2,065 entries in 2006–2015 to 3,412 in 2016–2025, about 65% more. Class 32 grew from 871 to 2,525, almost three times as many.
In the 12 latest issues by date, the two are level: 477 Class 33 entries and 474 in Class 32, out of 9,652.
Drinks marks also reach the Bulletin quickly. In those issues, a Class 33 mark took a median of about two months from filing to publication, against about 3.5 months across all classes. That is publication, not registration, and some marks still wait years.
Which words are worn out in liquor brand names?
Colour, quality and flavour words. Counting whole words in Class 33 names, PREMIUM appears 253 times and APPLE 218 times, ahead of WHITE, BLACK, RED, BLUE, GOLD and ROYAL. One of those eight sits in 1,291 names, about one in five.
APPLE shows why. Half of those 218 names also say "flavour", and they belong to 114 different owners. The word describes the contents, so the other words in each mark do the distinguishing.
About 540 Class 33 names even include the drink itself, such as whisky, vodka or wine. That is normal on a label, but it adds nothing to your claim, so build the brand around an invented or unexpected word.
What makes an alcohol mark hard to register?
Earlier marks first. The proviso to Sec. 18(1) bars a mark already registered to someone else, or one that would harm the reputation of another person's mark. On a shelf this full, a close name in the same class is the likeliest problem, which is why it pays to check every new Bulletin issue.
The same proviso lets the DoI refuse a mark that may hurt the prestige of a person or institution, adversely affect public conduct or morality, or undermine the national interest. Test any name built on a deity, a hero or a national symbol with an adviser first.
Can you use a place name or a famous wine region?
Carefully. Nepal has no geographical-indication law or register as of our last check, so names like Champagne or Darjeeling cannot be registered as GIs here. Our article on Champagne and Darjeeling explains how other countries protect them.
That does not make them safe to borrow: a label suggesting a false origin still misleads buyers and causes trouble in export markets. A Nepali district name is shared by many producers, so pair it with a distinctive word.
How do you register an alcohol trademark in Nepal?
Through the DoI, one class at a time, before bottles are ordered.
- Search the name. Run exact, similar and sound-alike spellings through the trademark search and the conflict checker.
- Read the shelf. Browse Classes 32 and 33 with search by NICE class for similar logos.
- Fix the classes. List your real drinks and services, then file one application per class.
- Prepare the mark. Choose the word, the logo or both, and keep labels consistent.
- File and answer examination. Under Sec. 18(1) the DoI investigates and gives you a chance to be heard.
- Watch the opposition window. Accepted marks appear on the DoI's Bulletin page, and anyone may oppose within 90 days of publication; act before the deadline the DoI states.
- Collect the certificate. Only then call the mark registered or use ®.
Our trademark search and clearance team gives a written opinion on the name, and our trademark registration service handles every stage at the DoI.
What documents does a brewery or distillery need?
The DoI's checklist for a Nepali applicant asks for the completed form, a copy of the industry or business permission or registration certificate, and VAT or PAN proof. It also needs the four specimens Sec. 17 requires, at most 8 × 8 cm each, the fee receipt and a power of attorney if an agent files.
Each specimen must show the business name, address and goods. For a drinks maker, the permission certificate on that list is normally its liquor or beer industry permission. Practitioners may also ask for a board resolution and, from an established business, its latest tax clearance; a new company will not have one yet, so confirm the current list on the DoI's Industrial Property Section page.
A foreign producer adds a certified copy of its home registration and a priority letter if it claims one. Nepal is outside the Madrid System, and Sec. 21B gives a foreign registration no force here, though Sec. 21C lets the DoI register one without enquiries, with Paris Convention facilities.
Does a trademark let you make or sell alcohol?
No. A registration decides who owns the brand, not who may produce, bottle, import or sell the drink. Setting up a liquor or beer industry needs its own permission, and the DoI publishes separate standards for that, the मदिरा तथा वियर उद्योग सम्बन्धको संशोधित मापदण्ड, २०७९.
The reverse also holds: a production permission gives no trademark rights and will not stop a rival filing your name first.
A distinctive bottle shape is a design question. Our industrial design registration team can file it before launch.
How long does it take, and how long does it last?
An unopposed trademark typically takes about 12–14 months from filing to certificate, and 6–8 months only in the smoothest cases; both are estimates, and an opposition adds time.
Sec. 18D gives seven years from the registration date, not the filing date. The mark is renewable any number of times, seven years at a time, under Sec. 23B. Renew within 35 days after expiry; a six-month late window follows on a fine, and then the registration is cancelled.
Use matters too. Under Sec. 18C, a mark not used within one year of registration can be cancelled after inquiry, which catches defensive filings for drinks that never launch.
Common mistakes alcohol brands make
- Filing beer in Class 33. Beer is the one alcoholic drink that heading excludes.
- Forgetting the zero-alcohol line. A de-alcoholised version belongs in Class 32.
- Leaning on PREMIUM or GOLD. Hundreds of Class 33 names already use them.
- Printing labels before searching. The first-to-file principle generally applies, so a rival's earlier application usually wins.
- Using ® too early. Sec. 18B bars presenting a mark as registered before it is, and Sec. 19 adds a fine and confiscation of the goods.
- Treating a licence as ownership. Industry permission creates no brand rights.
How should a new craft distillery plan its filings?
Here is an illustration, not a real case. "Koshi Juniper" plans a gin, a rice-based spirit and, later, a canned beer and a tasting bar in Kathmandu.
The gin and the rice spirit share one Class 33 application; the beer needs Class 32 and the bar Class 43, so the plan is three filings. If the search finds earlier Class 33 "Juniper" marks, the founders lead with "Koshi" and a distinctive logo.
They file the spirits class first, as that range launches first, and add the others before each product ships. Sec. 18A(3) lets a mark registered in one class later be registered in another.
In short: how do you protect an alcohol brand in Nepal?
Register the name and logo at the DoI: Class 33 for spirits and wine, Class 32 for beer, and service classes for bars or shops. Both drink classes are crowded, so an ownable name matters most.
Search first, avoid worn-out words, file before launch and renew on time.
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Planning a new label? Start with our trademark registration service, or contact IP Sewa with your range before the bottles are ordered.
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