NGO Name Protection in Nepal: Trademarks for Organisations That Do Not Sell
NGO name protection Nepal: why an NGO's name is an asset, what the DOI will register, INGO filing through local agents, and stopping copycat organisations.
An NGO's name is its balance sheet. Donors give to a name, partners sign with a name, beneficiaries queue under a name — and when a copycat organisation appears with a similar name collecting donations in the same district, the harm is not theoretical. Yet most Nepali NGOs register their organisation with the authorities and stop there, never registering the name as a trademark.
The two registrations do different jobs. Only one of them stops an imitator.
In short
NGO name protection in Nepal has two layers: the organisation's registration, which authorises it to exist, and a trademark registration at the Department of Industry, which gives exclusive rights in the name and logo for the organisation's classes of activity (NPR 1,000 to file, NPR 5,000 to register per class). INGOs file through local agents under notarised Powers of Attorney, program brands can be filed per class, and copycat organisations are met with opposition, notices and DOI complaints.
Registration vs protection: different registers, different powers
Registering an NGO or a social organisation authorises its existence and its activities; it does not create trademark rights. The Company Registrar, the Social Welfare Council and other bodies each keep their own lists — none of them is the trademark register, and none of them stops another organisation adopting a confusingly similar name.
The trademark registration at the DOI is what does that: exclusive rights in the name and logo, class by class, for 7 years renewable indefinitely. For an organisation whose entire brand is trust, that certificate is the document a cease-and-desist letter is built on.
What the DOI will and will not register
- Will register: distinctive names and logos for the organisation's activities — education services, health services, community development services, publications
- Will refuse: marks identical or deceptively similar to earlier marks (Section 18(1)), and names lacking distinctiveness
- Will refuse outright: state emblems and symbols, and marks falsely suggesting a connection with international organisations
- Watch the class: an NGO's activities map to service classes — match each program to its class rather than filing one catch-all
Filing for NGOs and INGOs
Search the name
Screen the organisation's name and acronym across the DOI's published records — NGO acronyms collide constantly, and a three-letter name needs a phonetic search in both scripts.
Map activities to classes
Training programs, health camps, publications and fundraising services each suggest their own class; file the core activity first and add classes as programs launch.
INGOs: the local-agent route
Foreign organisations file through a local agent under a notarised Power of Attorney — the consular legalisation route, since apostilles are not accepted — with the fees the same per-class structure as any applicant.
Beyond the name: programs, materials and networks
| Asset | Protection | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Program names and logos | Trademarks, per class | File flagship programs that attract their own funding |
| Training materials, reports, films | Copyright, automatic on creation | Registration as evidence; voluntary registration at the NCRO |
| Network or federation marks | Collective marks | One registration, member-use rules, quality control |
| Donor and partner materials | Contract terms | Clarify ownership of co-created content in MOUs |
Stopping copycat organisations in Nepal
The copycat NGO is met on the same ladder as any infringer. A watch on the Industrial Property Bulletin catches an imitator's application inside the roughly 90-day opposition window — the cheapest moment to stop it. A registered mark grounds a written notice, and DOI complaints follow where the imitator operates anyway. Donor communication matters too: telling partners, in writing, which entity is real protects the people the copycat targets.
None of it works without the registration. An organisation that has only its incorporation papers can protest; one with a certificate can enforce.
Want this handled for your brand?
IP Watch monitors new trademark publications in Nepal and alerts you to potentially conflicting marks — with the context needed to review them.
This article is general information, not legal advice.