Every IP service in Nepal, handled properly.

After a trademark application is examined by the Department of Industry, it is published to invite objections. In Nepal that publication — in the Department's Industrial Property Bulletin / trademark journal — opens a bounded window during which a third party can oppose the mark. IP Watch reads that bulletin for you: every new application is screened against the marks, names and classes you are watching, and any potential conflict reaches you as a dated, explained alert.

Because opposition in Nepal is time-bound (an objection must be filed within about 90 days / three months of publication), that window is the moment your right to object is actually alive. Systematic bulletin watching is the layer of protection registration alone does not give you: your own registration does not stop later similar applications from being published and, if unopposed, registered.

Before you file, check the two things that cause most refusals in Nepal: an identical earlier mark, or a mark so similar it is likely to be refused under Section 18(1) of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act, 2022 (1965). The conflict checker runs your proposed name against existing registrations and recent published applications — in both Latin and Devanagari scripts, and across commonly misspelled and sound-alike variants.

Trademarks in Nepal are examined and protected class by class (Section 18A — the Nice classification system with 45 classes), and there is no use-based priority until a mark is registered. The checker therefore reports the classes where identical or similar marks already sit, and gives a plain-language risk read — so you can file with insight, or pick a different name before paying filing fees on an application that is likely to be refused.

Trademark registration in Nepal — trademark darta (ट्रेडमार्क दर्ता) — is governed by the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act, 2022 (1965) and handled by the Department of Industry (Industrial Property Section, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu). Applications are filed class by class (Section 18A) on the Schedule 1(c) form together with the four required specimens of the mark and the supporting identity or corporate documents — domestic applicants attach industry/company registration, tax clearance and PAN; foreign applicants attach a notarized Power of Attorney and, where applicable, their home registration or priority documents.

A filed application is examined, and if accepted it is published in the Department's Industrial Property Bulletin to invite objections. When no one opposes (or opposition fails), the mark is registered and a certificate is issued — the registration lasts seven years and is renewable indefinitely. An unopposed domestic application typically registers in roughly six to twelve months.

A Nepalese trademark registration — trademark navikaran (ट्रेडमार्क नवीकरण) — lasts 7 years from registration and must be renewed before it lapses if protection is to continue. Under Section 23B, renewal is applied for on Schedule 2(f) within 35 days from the date the registration term expires. Missing that window does not end matters immediately: renewal can still be completed within a further six months by paying the prescribed late fine (NPR 1,000). If renewal is not completed by then, the registration is automatically cancelled and anyone — including a competitor — can apply to register the mark instead.

Because the window is short and begins at an easy-to-miss anniversary, deadline management is the entire game. We track every registered mark in your portfolio, remind you ahead of each renewal anniversary, prepare and file the renewal, and confirm the register reflects the renewed term. A trademark in Nepal is renewable without limit, each term lasting 7 years.

Nepal's patent law (Sections 3–11 of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act, 2022 (1965)) protects a product or process that is new and industrially applicable. A complete application includes a request, a full description of the invention, the claims, and drawings where needed, filed at the Department of Industry. Accepted patents are published in the Nepal Gazette (secret patents and matters running against national interest are excepted), and a certificate is issued on registration.

A Nepalese patent runs for seven years from registration and can be renewed — but only twice, for seven years at a time — giving a maximum life of twenty-one years (Section 23B). Nepal is not a PCT member, so applications are made directly to the Department. We draft and file the specification and claims, respond to examination, and manage the registration and renewal deadlines across the life of the patent.

A Nepalese patent is valid for 7 years from the date of registration. Section 23B permits renewal, but the Act caps a patent's life: it may be renewed at most twice, for periods of 7 years at a time, giving a maximum of twenty-one years from registration. Renewal is filed on Schedule 2(d) within 35 days of expiry; a late renewal is possible for a further six months with the NPR 1,000 fine, and otherwise the patent is automatically cancelled.

Patents are often renewed while the invention is being commercialized, licensed or imported into Nepal, and the renewal record matters for enforcement and for the register maintained under Section 22. We monitor each patent's expiry date, prepare and file the renewal, keep the register up to date — and flag the final renewal so you can plan around the end of exclusivity.

An industrial design protects how a product looks — its shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation. Under Sections 12–15 of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act, 2022 (1965), an application is filed at the Department of Industry with four copies or representations of the design plus maps, drawings and particulars. Registration is refused only on narrow grounds: a design that hurts the prestige of a person or institution, is against public morality, undermines national interest, or has already been registered by another.

Once registered, the holder receives a certificate and the design is entered in the Department's register. The initial term is five years from registration, renewable twice for further five-year periods — a maximum of fifteen years in force (Section 23B). We prepare the representations, draft the particulars, file the application and track it through examination to registration and beyond.

A Nepalese industrial design is registered for 5 years from registration. Under Section 23B it can be renewed on Schedule 2(e) within 35 days of expiry — but not indefinitely: a design may be renewed at most twice for 5 years at a time, so the maximum period of protection is fifteen years from registration. A late renewal is possible within six months of the 35-day limit on payment of the NPR 1,000 fine; otherwise the registration is automatically cancelled.

Design rights are appearance rights, and in Nepal they are commonly renewed while the product is still on the market (or until the design reaches its fifteen-year ceiling, after which it enters the public domain). We track renewal anniversaries, prepare and file the Schedule 2(e) application, pay the renewal fee, record the renewed term — and flag designs that have reached their maximum life so you can plan.

The Department of Industry maintains separate registers for patents, designs and trade-marks (Section 22 of the Act). When a proprietor changes its name or address — through a company re-registration, a rebrand, or a partner/director change — the register does not update itself. We file the application to record the change together with the supporting certificates and corporate documents, and have the amendment endorsed on the registration record.

An up-to-date register matters beyond cosmetics: renewal notices, oppositions and enforcement actions are tied to the recorded proprietor and its address. The endorsement fees for recording amendments (other than transfers) are modest and fixed in Schedule 3, so there is little reason to leave a record stale. We prepare the request, coordinate the endorsement at the Department, and confirm the amended record with you.

When ownership of a trademark, design or patent passes — through sale of the business, share transfer, merger or inheritance — the transfer should be recorded at the Department of Industry. Section 21D of the Act provides for transfer of ownership, and the register maintained under Section 22 will not show the new owner until the change is recorded. Without recordal, the new owner can face practical problems proving title, enforcing the right, and receiving renewal notices.

Recording an assignment is a procedural step backed by a documented transfer: typically a notarized deed of assignment, the supporting corporate documents of both parties, and the original registration certificate for endorsement. The Department endorses the change on the register for the fixed transfer fees in Schedule 3, which differ for patents, designs and trade-marks. We draft or review the deed of assignment, file the recordal and confirm the register reflects the new owner.

Rights holders frequently permit others to use a trademark, design or patent through franchise, distribution, co-branding or technology licensing. Section 21D of the Act contemplates both transfer of ownership and approval for use, and recording the license at the Department of Industry keeps the register accurate about who is authorized to use the right in Nepal.

A recorded license is useful evidence in any dispute about authorized use, and it supports the quality-control story that protects a trademark's distinctiveness. Recording involves filing the license agreement (and any amendment), the supporting documents, and having the change endorsed for the prescribed endorsement fee. We prepare and file the recordal, coordinate the endorsement, and keep a copy of the registered license for your records.

Foreign direct investment in Nepal is regulated by the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act (FITTA) 2019 and the Industrial Enterprises Act 2020. The Department of Industry is the approval agency for FDI below NPR 6 billion; investments of NPR 6 billion or more, national pride projects and PPP projects are routed through the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN). A foreign investor generally must invest at least NPR 20 million (about USD 150,000) — with no minimum for IT/ICT investments made through the automatic route — and there is no upper cap.

For investments up to NPR 500 million in eligible sectors (energy, agriculture & forest products, infrastructure, tourism, IT/ICT, services, manufacturing), approval can be obtained automatically: you submit online at the DOI's FDI platform and receive the approval certificate without a separate discretionary review. Standard approvals follow a documentation checklist — project report, joint venture agreement where relevant, corporate/passport documents, a financial credibility certificate from the investor's home-country bank, and an authority letter — with no approval fee and a refundable NPR 20,000 deposit. After approval the investor incorporates the company, registers for tax and industry, brings the funds through the banking channel, notifies and records the investment at Nepal Rastra Bank (as FITTA 2019 requires), and can later repatriate dividends, royalties and sale proceeds through the foreign-exchange facility. Recent amendments to the NRB's bylaws allow eligible investors to receive foreign currency inflows and repatriate directly through authorized banks without prior NRB approval.

Outward investment — a Nepalese company investing in, or establishing operations abroad — requires approvals before Nepali rupees leave the country. Under the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 1962, the outflow of foreign exchange must be authorized by Nepal Rastra Bank, and under the FITTA/IEA framework a Nepalese industry that wants to branch out abroad needs the Department of Industry's permission (for example, to establish a branch office in another country) and must record the investment with the central bank. A Nepalese company may also provide technology or technology transfer to an entity abroad under the same framework.

The NRB's Foreign Investment and Foreign Loan Management Bylaw 2021 sets the practical limits. Under its recent amendments, Nepali information-technology companies may remit foreign exchange to invest abroad up to the lower of 50% of their average foreign-exchange earnings over the previous three fiscal years or USD 1 million; service-exporting companies can invest up to USD 20,000 without additional conditions. We prepare the approval papers — board resolution, investment plan, audited financials, tax clearance, the DOI permission, and the NRB foreign-exchange application — and manage the process from application to recording.