Nepal law recognizes and grants protection to the following forms of intellectual property:
- Copyright
- Patent
- Design
- Trademark
Nepal is party to the following international instruments concerning protection of Intellectual Property:
- Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 1886
- Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1883
- Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) 1994
- Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization 1967
Copyright
Copyright in Nepal is primarily governed under the provisions of Copyright Act 2059 (2002) and Copyright Rules 2061 (2004).
Copyright Act grants protection to the following types of works:
- Work created by an author residing in Nepal or a member country of World Trade Organization (WTO)
- An audio-visual work produced by a producer residing in Nepal or in a WTO member country
- An architectural design of a building made in Nepal or in a WTO member country or other kind of artistic work used in a building or any other structure
- A work published in Nepal by an author residing in a country other than Nepal or WTO member country, or an audiovisual work produced in Nepal by a producer of such other country
Copyright protection shall be extended to any work. Registration of Copyright is not mandatory. Interested parties may have their Copyright registered with the Copyright Registrar.
Economic rights to a Work shall be vested in the author(s) or the assignee/transferee. Author may transfer Economic Rights over a work to a different person or entity. Author will retain moral rights regardless of whether the author has the economic right or not. Moral right is not transferable during the lifetime of the author. Copyright Act also protects the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings, and broadcasters.
The economic and moral rights of the author under this Act shall be protected throughout the lifetime of the author and in the case of author’s death, for fifty years from the year of death.
Patent Design and Trademark
Patents, designs and trademarks are protected under the Patent Design and Trademark Act 2022 (1965). Department of Industry (“DOI”) is authorized to administer matters related to protection of intellectual property rights under this Act.
DOI may register patents, designs and trade- marks registered in foreign countries based on certificate of registration in any foreign country. DOI shall provide the facility of priority date pursuant to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1883 to the registration holder.
The owner of a Patent, Design or Trademark may transfer the ownership or provide approval in writing for its use (licensing) to another person based on a deed of transfer and joint application from both parties.
The title to any patent, design or trade-mark registered in a foreign country shall not be valid in Nepal unless it is registered in Nepal by the concerned person in Nepal.
Violation of patent, design and trademarks is punishable with fines, seizure of infringing materials and also allows the rights holder to claim compensation.
Patent
When an application for patent registration is filed, the DOI shall, on the advice of experts if so considered necessary, examine the information to ascertain whether the claimed patent is a new invention or not, and whether it is useful to the general public or not, and thereafter decide whether or not to register such patent.
DOI shall refuse registration in the following circumstances:
(a) In case the patent is already registered in the name of any other person, or
(b) In case the applicant is not the inventor of the patent sought to be so registered nor has acquired rights over it from the original inventor, or
(c) In case the patent sought to be registered is likely to adversely affect the public health, conduct or morality or the national interest, or
(d) In case of contravention of Nepal law.
Registered Patents (other than those which must be kept secret in the national interest), shall be published by the Department in the Nepal Gazette for public information.
Patent once registered be valid for period of seven years from the date of registration subject to renewal. Patents may be renewed twice for a period of seven years for each renewal.
Design
On receipt of the application for registration of design, DOI shall firstly examine the application. If application is deemed appropriate, DOI shall publish the application in the Industrial Property Bulletin. The purpose of publication is to give an opportunity to any other party to present opposition to the registration of the proposed design. If any opposition is filed, DOI will adjudicate over the matter. If no opposition is filed or if filed opposition is dismissed, then the Design will be registered.
The design will not be registered if it hurts the prestige of any individual or institution or adversely affects the public conduct or morality, or undermines the national interest, or in case such design has already been registered in the name of any other person.
Design registration shall remain valid for a period of 5 years from the date of registration, subject to renewal. The design owner may renew registration on two occasions for a period of 5 years for each renewal.
Trademarks
When an application for registration of trademark is filed, the DOI will first examine the application. If the application is deemed appropriate, DOI shall publish the trademark application in the Industrial Property Bulletin. The purpose of publish is to give an opportunity to any other party to present opposition against registration of the stated trademark. If any opposition is filed, DOI will adjudicate over the matter. If no opposition is filed or if filed opposition is dismissed, then the mark will be registered.
A trademark that is deemed to hurt the prestige of any individual or institution or adversely affect the public conduct or morality or undermine the national interest or the reputation of the trade-mark of any other person, or which is found to have already been registered in the name of another person, shall not be registered.
Trademark registration shall remain valid for a period of seven years subject to renewal. Owner of trademark can renew trademark registration subsequently with each renewal lasting for 7 years.
Disclaimer: The contents of this page are for general information purposes only and shall not be construed as legal advice. Please contact our legal professionals for accurate assistance.
Our Services:
Filing of trademark application and processing
Opposing trademark application
Infringement Action