Patent registration in Nepal. Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. Nepal is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. In addition, Nepal has made significant progress in poverty reduction bringing the population below the international poverty line. Not only that, Nepal has a booming tourism industry, attracting millions of visitors every year. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Nepal.
Patent in Nepal
According to Nepal Law, a patent in Nepal is a grant of a property right given by the Government to an inventor. With a patent, the inventor, or the patentee will have the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling the invention in a country, or importing the invention into a country, along with other rights to protect their best interests.
To be patentable in Nepal, an invention must satisfy the new, nonobvious, inventive, and industrially applicable requirements.
In addition, an invention that is patentable can also be an improvement on existing items or methods.
On the other hand, the unpatentable subjects in Nepal are:
- Discoveries, laws of nature, and mathematical methods;
- Aesthetic designs;
- Systems, rules, and methods for the performance of mental labor, games or management, computer programs;
- Presentation of data and abstract ideas.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Nepal
The necessary documents for patent registration in Nepal include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The procedure of patent registration in Nepal
To obtain a patent in Nepal, the applicant needs to file the patent application to the IP Office of Nepal.
After receiving the patent application, the examiners at the IP Office will conduct examinations on the patent application to check if it meets the criteria for being patented or not.
If it is necessary, the IP Office may consult the knowledge of experts outside of the Office.
If there are no problems detected, the IP Office shall publish all patents, except those to be kept secret for national interest in the official IP Bulletin.
As the information is published publicly, any interested parties may take a copy of such patent applications for further study or self-examinations.
If a third party has conducted examinations and found out the invention in the patent application infringes upon their rights, they may file a complaint to the IP Office within 35 days from the publication date.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the IP Office will take necessary action through an investigation.
Validity and renewal of a patent in Nepal
After the granting, the patent will have a validity of 7 years. During this period, the patentee will have all exclusive rights to the invention.
Within 35 days from the expiry date, the patentee may request a renewal of the patent.
Renewal of a patent may be made two times in seven years.
You can see a list of Nepal IP firms here.