A Startup IP Roadmap for Nepal: From Name Check to Fundraise

Stage one of a Nepal startup IP roadmap: clear the name

Nepal is first-to-file: the company that files first generally wins, regardless of who used the name first in trade. Before the logo goes on signage or the domain is bought, screen the proposed name against registered marks and published applications in your class — including Devanagari and transliteration variants, because एभरेष्ट and Everest are the same conflict in practice.

This is the cheapest hour in the roadmap. Most doomed names were doomed on day one; the search is what reveals it while rebranding is still free. Check company-name availability and the domain too — different registries, related risks.

Stage two: file the trademark in the class that earns revenue

Nepal files one class per application under Section 18A, so the roadmap question is which class first. A software startup files Class 9 (recorded software) and Class 42 (development and SaaS services); a food brand starts at Class 30 and adds Class 35 when distribution goes live; a consumer product adds Class 35 for retail. Each class is a separate NPR 1,000 application and NPR 5,000 registration in current practice.

An unopposed application commonly registers in six to twelve months and gives a 7-year term renewable indefinitely. File before the marketing spend, not after — a first-to-file system does not wait for launch.

Stage three: own what your team builds — on paper

Nepal's Copyright Act 2059 has no work-for-hire doctrine: the individual creator owns the code, designs and content first, and payment alone transfers nothing. Every employee and contractor signs a written assignment — present tense, covering works created in the scope of work and business-related personal works — plus confidentiality terms. Freelancers need the same instrument at contract signature, or the company owns a receipt, not the deliverable.

Then register copyright voluntarily for the crown jewels — the core codebase, the brand assets — at the Copyright Registrar's Office. The certificate is the dated public record diligence and infringement disputes both lean on.

Stage four: keep the rights alive and defended

Rights decay without maintenance. Keep dated evidence of use — invoices, packaging, app-store listings — because a mark not used within one year of registration invites a use inquiry, and use evidence anchors any opposition. Watch the Industrial Property Bulletin so a conflicting application is opposed inside the 90-day window rather than discovered after registration.

And diarise the renewal clock from the day the certificate arrives: expiry at 7 years, the 35-day window at NPR 3,500 per class, the 6-month grace at NPR 4,500 — after which the registration is cancelled automatically and the name is open to anyone.

1. 1

   Build the use file

   A dated folder of invoices, screenshots and packaging per mark — the evidence base for use challenges and oppositions alike.

2. 2

   Diarise the renewals

   One calendar row per class per mark: expiry, 35-day window, grace deadline — computed in BS and AD.

   Renewal Deadline Calculator

Stage five: the fundraise audit

Investor diligence asks four questions, and the roadmap above answers all of them in advance: who owns the IP (assignments on file); is the brand protected (registrations, classes, statuses); are the rights current (renewals paid, register entries accurate — record changes cost NPR 1,000 per mark); and is anything contested (watch records, oppositions, disputes).

Fix the gaps before the term sheet, not during it. Retroactive assignments signed early are a formality; the same documents signed under diligence pressure are leverage.