Design Examination in Nepal: The Grounds the DOI Actually Checks
Design examination in Nepal: the four narrow Section 14 grounds, what the Department checks on a Schedule 1(b) filing, the 35-day objection window, and timing.
Design applicants expecting a trademark-style distinctiveness analysis or a patent-style prior-art hunt are examining for the wrong system. Nepal's design examination is deliberately narrow — and knowing exactly what the Department checks is the difference between a clean registration and months of avoidable correspondence.
This guide sets out the examination grounds for industrial designs in Nepal, the paperwork the Department reads, and the windows that follow acceptance.
In short
Design examination in Nepal runs on four narrow grounds under Section 14 of the PDTA: the design is already registered by another, it offends public morality, it contravenes national interest, or it hurts the prestige of any person, institution or the nation. There is no inventive-step test and no prior-art search — the representations define the scope, formality queries are answered by amendment, and published designs face objections within 35 days. Fees are NPR 1,000 to file and NPR 7,000 to register.
Design examination in Nepal: the four grounds, precisely
Section 14 refuses a design registration on limited grounds: the design has already been registered by another; it is against public morality; it runs against national interest; or it hurts the prestige of any person, institution or the nation. That is the list. Unlike trademarks, there is no distinctiveness analysis to fail; unlike patents, no technical committee assessing whether the invention works. The narrowness is deliberate — a design right protects appearance, and the statute keeps the examination focused on the register's integrity rather than on aesthetic judgement.
What the examination actually reads
The Department's review is formality-plus, and the filing decides most outcomes before examination begins:
| Element | What the Department checks | Failure mode |
|---|---|---|
| Application form | Schedule 1(b), properly completed | Missing particulars delay the file |
| Four sets of representations | Identical images across sets; the design clearly shown from consistent angles | Inconsistent or cluttered representations — the most common query |
| Particulars | What is claimed (and disclaimed) is stated | Ambiguous claims of colour or pattern |
| Fees | NPR 1,000 application; NPR 7,000 registration on acceptance | Payment gaps stall the file |
| Prior registrations | The Section 14 first ground — same design already registered | A copycat filing blocked on the register |
Why narrow examination shifts the burden to the applicant
Because the Department does not search the market or prior art the way a patent office would, the real commercial risk sits with the applicant: registering a design that copies someone's earlier unregistered look, then having to defend it. The practical pre-filing discipline is a quick review of registered designs and the market for the same look — cheap insurance that costs an afternoon. It also means acceptance is not vindication: the Department's clearance means the Section 14 grounds are not engaged, not that no conflicting rights exist anywhere.
Amendments, acceptance and the 35-day objection window
Queries over unclear representations are answered by amendment — tidying the representations, sharpening the particulars — and responsive filing keeps the file moving; slow answers are how design registrations quietly lose months. On acceptance the registration fee is paid, the design registers and a certificate issues, and the design publishes alongside the trademarks — with objections open within 35 days of publication. For competitors watching a product category, that publication is the moment to assess a design claim; for applicants, it is the moment the right becomes publicly visible and, shortly after, enforceable.
After examination: the lifecycle the registration starts
A granted design runs 5 years from registration and is renewable twice, for 5 years each — the 15-year ceiling under Section 23B. Renewals are filed on Schedule 2(e) within 35 days of each expiry, with a 6-month grace period carrying a NPR 1,000 fine. Plan the anniversaries on the day of registration: designs are the right most often lost to silence rather than to challenge, and the examination that granted the right will not remind anyone to keep it.
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This article is general information, not legal advice.