Trademarks
Trademarks
A trademark right in Nepal is territorial. Using a mark abroad, or even being well known elsewhere, does not by itself give you a registration here. Filing is done at the Department of Industry under the Patent, Design and Trademark Act, 2022 (1965).
The useful sequence is search, file, examination, publication, then registration — if nobody opposes, or after an opposition is decided.
A clearance search will not guarantee acceptance, but it catches obvious conflicts: earlier identical or similar marks in the same class of goods or services. It is cheaper to adjust a brand, or a class list, before the application is on the register’s desk.
After filing, the Department examines form and distinctiveness and looks for prior rights. If the mark is accepted, it is published in the Industrial Property Bulletin. That publication is the public notice. Third parties may oppose; the exact window is the one stated in the bulletin notice for that issue, so deadlines should be read from the notice, not from memory.
Nepal is a party to the Paris Convention, so a priority claim is often available if the home filing is still in time. Foreign owners typically act through a local attorney. A home registration certificate is commonly part of the filing pack when the mark is already registered abroad.
Once registered, a mark is maintained by renewal. Non-use can put a registration at risk. Watching the bulletin after you file — and after you register — is part of looking after the asset, not an optional extra.
General information only, current as a high-level outline. It is not legal advice and not a substitute for a search or an opinion on a live application.