Frequently Asked Questions

All three. Trademarks are our largest practice, but we also file and prosecute patents and industrial designs before the Department of Industry.

The Department of Industry (DoI) is the government office that examines and grants trademarks, patents and designs in Nepal. IP Sewa is not the government — we are the licensed firm that prepares your application, files it with the DoI on your behalf, answers examiner objections, and keeps you updated at every stage.

Think of the DoI as the registry and IP Sewa as your representative in front of it.

IP Sewa is operated by Lawyers Nepal Platform Pvt. Ltd. — the licensed firm that handles the legal filing on your behalf.

Every application has a live status timeline in your portal — Submitted, Filed with the Department of Industry, Published, Registered — and you receive an email at each stage.

At a high level: (1) search the register to make sure your mark is available, (2) identify the right class(es) of goods/services, (3) file the application with the Department of Industry with your logo and supporting documents, (4) the DoI examines it and, if accepted, publishes it in the Industrial Property Bulletin, (5) after the 90-day opposition window passes, the mark proceeds to registration.

On IP Sewa you start the whole process online and we handle the filing and follow-up with the DoI.

You can start and manage the entire process online through IP Sewa — search, submit your details and documents, and track status from your portal. The formal grant is still issued by the Department of Industry; we file with them on your behalf, so you don’t need to visit the office yourself.

Yes to all three, as long as the mark is distinctive. A brand name and a logo are the most common filings. A slogan can be registered if it is distinctive rather than a plain descriptive phrase.

A logo and the word mark are legally separate — protecting both the name and the logo gives you the strongest position, because it stops others copying either element.

Run a search on IP Sewa against the trademark register before you file. Nepal is first-to-file, so an earlier identical or confusingly similar mark in your class can block your application. A clearance search up front is the cheapest way to avoid a refusal or an opposition later.

It usually takes several months to over a year, depending on the Department of Industry’s examination queue and whether anyone files an opposition during the 90-day publication window. We keep your status updated at every stage so you always know where your application stands.

Because the real cost depends on your case. The Department of Industry charges an official government fee per class of goods/services, and that changes depending on how many classes you file in and whether you are a domestic or foreign applicant. On top of that sits our professional service fee.

Rather than post a misleading single number, we confirm the current official fees for your specific filing and quote everything upfront. Contact us for an exact quote.

The main drivers are: how many classes you file in (fees are charged per class), whether you are a domestic or foreign applicant, and the scope of professional work involved — for example a straightforward filing versus one that draws an examiner objection or an opposition. We set out all of this before you commit.

There are two parts: the Department of Industry’s official government fee (charged per NICE class, set in the Act’s fee schedule and revised from time to time) and our professional service fee. Because official fees change and depend on how many classes you file in — and whether you are a domestic or foreign applicant — we confirm the current figures and quote everything upfront. Contact us for an exact quote.

Your brand can be protected across several classes, but the official fee is charged per class, so covering more classes costs more. We help you cover the classes you genuinely trade in — enough to protect the business without paying for classes you’ll never use.

It is the wording that defines exactly what your mark covers within a class. Get it too narrow and a competitor can operate just outside it; too broad or vague and the examiner may object. A well-drafted description is one of the most important parts of a strong application — IP Sewa can generate and refine it for you.

It depends on the IP type — typically an ID/citizenship or company registration, a power of attorney, and (for trademarks) your logo file. The application form lists exactly what to upload for your case.

No. Nepal is not a member of the Madrid Protocol, so there is no single international filing that automatically covers Nepal. To protect a mark here you must file a national application directly with the Department of Industry.

Nepal is, however, a party to the Paris Convention, so if you have recently filed abroad you may be able to claim priority from that earlier filing.

Not automatically. Trademark rights are territorial, so a registration in another country gives you no protection in Nepal on its own. You need a separate Nepalese registration. Because Nepal is first-to-file, it’s worth filing here early — before a local party registers the same or a similar mark.

A Nepalese registration only protects you inside Nepal. To cover other countries you file in each of them (or through a regional/international route where available). If Nepal is your first filing, the Paris Convention may let you claim its date as a priority when you file abroad shortly after. We can point you in the right direction for overseas protection.

An industrial design protects the appearance of a product — its shape, pattern or ornamentation, not how it works. You file a design application with drawings/representations at the Department of Industry. As with patents, avoid publicly disclosing the design before filing. We handle the preparation and filing for you.

A patent protects how something works — a new invention or technical solution. An industrial design protects how a product looks — its appearance. A trademark protects what tells customers who you are — your brand name and logo.

Many products involve more than one: a novel gadget might have a patent for its mechanism, a design for its shape, and a trademark for its brand.

Under Nepalese law a patent runs for 7 years from grant and an industrial design for 5 years, each renewable for further terms as provided in the Act. We track these dates and remind you before each renewal so protection doesn’t lapse.

Copyright protects original creative works (text, music, art, code). A trademark protects the signs that identify your brand in trade (names, logos). A logo can attract both — copyright in the artwork and trademark protection for its use as a brand. They are separate rights with different terms and registers.

An opposition doesn’t end your application — it starts a contested stage where the opponent states their grounds and you respond, and the Department of Industry decides. Many oppositions are resolved with the right evidence and arguments. If your mark is opposed, we assess the grounds and represent you through the process.

A trademark is valid for 7 years from registration and is renewable; patents and industrial designs have their own terms. We send renewal reminders so nothing lapses.

We track your expiry dates and remind you ahead of time, then handle the renewal filing with the Department of Industry so your protection stays continuous.

A late renewal is often still possible for a limited grace period after expiry, usually with an additional fee, but leaving it too long can mean losing the registration altogether. This is exactly why we send reminders and track your dates — so a missed deadline never becomes a lost trademark.

Potentially yes. A registered mark that is not genuinely used can be vulnerable to challenge and removal from the register. Keep evidence of real commercial use of your mark, and make sure the goods/services you registered reflect what you actually trade in.

Infringement of a registered mark can be pursued through the Department of Industry and, for civil remedies or damages, through the courts. The strength of your case rests on your registration and your evidence of the infringing use. We help you build the evidence and take the appropriate enforcement action.

It is a formal letter putting an infringer on notice — setting out your rights, identifying their infringing use, and demanding they stop (and sometimes account for what they’ve done). It is often the quickest, lowest-cost first step, and it creates a paper trail if the matter later escalates. We draft and send these on your behalf.