Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual Property Law

We work across the full breadth of intellectual property law in Nepal, covering patents, industrial designs, trademarks and copyright rather than one narrow corner of IP. Nepal is a signatory to the Paris Convention, the Berne Convention and the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, and a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization, all of which shape the standards its domestic IP laws are expected to meet.

The Legal Framework

The two core statutes are the Copyright Act, 2059 (2002), which covers literary, artistic, musical and audiovisual works and grants both economic and moral rights, and the Patent, Design and Trademark Act, 2022 (1965), which covers patents, industrial designs and trademarks and is administered by the Department of Industry. Copyright protection does not require registration, but registering still matters in practice because proving ownership in a dispute is far easier when the paperwork is already on record.

It is worth being direct about where the framework shows its age. The Patent, Design and Trademark Act predates most digital-era challenges, including counterfeit goods sold online, cross-border grey markets across the open border with India, and digital piracy. International membership pushes standards toward global norms, but enforcement still depends on active monitoring and investigation by rights holders.

What We Do

• IPR protection advisory: identifying what is protectable, how to register it and what keeps protection enforceable over time.
• Registration and renewal of patents, industrial designs and trademarks before the Department of Industry, from application to grant.
• Franchise and technology transfer agreements and other IP-related commercial contracts, structured to protect the owner while keeping the deal workable.
• IPR infringement disputes before the Department of Industry, the High Court and the Supreme Court.
• Counterfeit investigation that builds the evidentiary basis for enforcement, not just a complaint.
• IPR due diligence before a transaction, licensing arrangement or market entry.

Our Approach

Intellectual property only holds the value a rights holder is willing and able to defend. Registration is the starting point. Our job is to make sure protection translates into something enforceable when it matters, whether in a franchise negotiation, a technology transfer or an infringement claim before the court.