Trade Mark Law in Nepal

Trade Mark

A trademark may be any Name, Shape, Word, Phrase, Symbol, Color, Slogan, or combination of these things that identifies your goods or services and distinguishes them from others. In trademarks, ® represents the registered trademark, and ™ represents the unregistered trademark represents the brand and is under the process of registration. In Nepal, trademarks are registered only with the Department of Industry (DOI). The law that regulates trademarks in Nepal is the Patent Design and Trade Mark Act 2022(1965).

Procedures for trademark registration in Nepal

1. The first step to registering a trademark is the submission of an application for registration of a trademark to the Department of Industry.

• Anyone who is submitting an application needs to submit it in a prescribed format to the DOI for registration, along with all required documents such as

• Company/Industry registration papers,
• PAN certificate,
• Citizenship and a sealed application form.
• The required tax per trademark is Rs 100 to pay.
• The applicant has to be present; in the case of an absentee, they can go through the Power of Attorney, which is a legal authorization that gives a designated person the power to act for someone else. The power of attorney has to be attached to the application.

2. In the second step of the procedure, the preliminary examination of the application is conducted by DOI after submitting the application and documents; where are then examined by the registrar with regard to their uniqueness, the possibility of deceptiveness, and conflicting trademarks. The registrar may accept or refuse the application, subject to the provisions of the act.
3. Then, the trademark is published in the Industrial Property Bulletin (IP Bulletin). After a preliminary examination, if the DOI determines that the trademark is lawful, this, DOI published Processing Trademarks in the IP Bulletin to invite the public to file an opposition for trademark registration. Within 90 days of the trademark's publication in the IP bulletin, anyone may file an opposition.
4. At last, if no one files an opposition, the DOI will register the trademark and issue the trademark registration certificate. If no petition for an opposition is filed, the process of registration and issuance of a trademark registration certificate takes about nine months.

That registered trademark validation is for seven (7) years after it is registered. The renewal can be done within 35 days of its expiration date. If someone fails to renew on time, they can do so by paying a penalty of Rs.1, 000 within six (6) months of the expiration of the 35-day period.