A foreign trademark is registered and protected by the Patent Design and Trademark Act 1965 (2022) (the “PDTA“ ), whereas the Department of Industries (DOI) administers and registers foreign trademarks. DOI is also assigned with the quasi-judicial authority in relation to the dispute settlement of trademark infringement.
A trademark cannot receive protection in Nepal without having it registered. Hence it is mandatory for the foreign trademark to get registered with DOI to acquire protection in Nepal. In spite of Nepal being party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1886 and TRIPS, PDTA has not provided specific protection to the well-known trademark in Nepal.
Only the foreign trademark holding a home registration certificate is eligible to be registered with DOI. Therefore, no foreign trademark is registered independently.
Application for registration of a trademark (the standard trademark registration form)
Home/Foreign Trademark Registration Certificate
Power of Attorney
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PDTA has also extended the provision of the priority claim as per the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1886. A notarized copy of the application should be filed along with the application for the registration of the priority claim.
PDTA has not provided any time period within which the trademark is to be registered upon application and fulfilling the procedure. In practice, upon submission of the application with the required documents and fee, it generally takes around 9 months for the completion of registration and a further six months to one year if any pre-opposition is being filed.
In spite of Nepal not being party to the Nice Agreement Concerning International Classification of Goods and Services, 1957, trademarks are registered on the basis of the same agreement. Each class of trademark should be registered differently.
A.H.N. Legal holds expertise in representing parties in relation to various family-related issues.
Note: This write-up should not be considered an expert legal opinion. This has been drafted only for the purpose of a general understanding of the subject matter.
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