Handling Domain Name Disputes: The .NP ccTLD Resolution Process Explained
No UDRP for .np domains — disputes run through the registry's rules and Nepal's courts. How .np registration works, what to do about squatted domains, and the prevention playbook.
The global domain dispute system — UDRP — does not cover Nepal's .np ccTLD. A domain squatter holding yourbrand.com.np is not fighting an ICANN policy; they are dealing with the registry's own rules and, ultimately, Nepalese law.
That changes both the playbook and the prevention math. Here is how .np disputes actually work.
In short
Nepal's .np ccTLD is administered by Mercantile Office Systems under delegation from Mercantile/DoIT, with registration rules and dispute handling set locally — the ICANN UDRP does not apply. Disputes therefore resolve through: (1) the registry's own procedures — correspondence with the registrant, and registry discretion where registration conditions were violated (e.g., requirements around eligibility/documentation for .np registrations); (2) negotiation and purchase from the registrant; and (3) Nepalese courts — trademark infringement/passing-off claims where the domain uses a registered mark, supported by the PDTA's protections and general law. Practical playbook: register defensively before others do (the .np registration process is documentation-based and cheap); police registrations (monitor for your-brand variants under .np); document the squatter's use (parked page, competitor redirect, offer for sale); approach the registry with the violation theory; and litigate where the mark is registered and use is infringing. Prevention dominates: a trademark registration plus defensive .np registrations costs a fraction of any recovery path.
How .np registration works — and why disputes differ
The .np ccTLD (registered via the Mercantile Office Systems' register) is documentation-based: registrations require applicant identity and, for many second-level categories, supporting documents (citizenship/company registration and the like). That structure keeps casual squatting lower than in open gTLDs — and it gives disputes a hook the gTLD world lacks: a squatted .np domain often violated the registration conditions themselves, which is a registry-level argument before any court is involved.
What .np does not have: the UDRP. There is no arbitration-style panel process, no mandatory transfer procedure, no_ICANN appeal. The remedies are the registry's discretion, the registrant's reasonableness, and the courts. Plan accordingly — the .np dispute path is slower and more relationship-based than the gTLD one.
- Documentation-based registration — eligibility is the first lever
- No UDRP: registry discretion + negotiation + courts
- Squatted .np domains often violate registration conditions
The dispute playbook, in order
When someone else holds the .np domain matching your brand:
Document the registration and the use
Who registered it, when, and what the domain does now — parked page, redirect to a competitor, offer for sale, or genuine independent use. The use determines everything downstream; screenshot and archive.
Check the registration conditions
Does the registrant meet the eligibility requirements for that second-level domain? Are the supporting documents genuine and current? A violated condition is a registry-level removal argument — the cheapest path available.
Verify your own position
Is your trademark registered in Nepal, and does it predate or postdate the domain registration? A registered mark is the backbone of every route that follows.
Approach the registry with the violation theory
Correspondence with the registry, presenting the eligibility/condition violations and (where held) the trademark position. Outcomes here are discretionary — but the ask is free, and documentation quality decides it.
Negotiate, with a number in mind
Many .np disputes end in purchase. Price against your alternatives (litigation time and cost), and get any agreement in writing with the transfer mechanics specified.
Litigate where the use infringes
A domain that uses your registered mark to mislead — competitor redirect, counterfeit sales, brand impersonation — is a trademark infringement/passing-off case in the courts, with interim relief available where the harm is live.
The prevention stack (costs less than one dispute)
Register first: the .np variants of your brand — including common misspellings and the .com.np form — at launch, for the price of the documentation effort. Register the mark: the trademark backs every future dispute and blocks the squatter's defence that 'nobody owned the name'. Monitor: periodic checks of new registrations near your brand (the same watch discipline as the Bulletin). Own the gTLDs that matter: .com at minimum; the rest by risk. Contract for continuity: renewal responsibility named in your ops runbook — expired domains are the most common self-inflicted loss in Nepalese brand practice.
The whole stack costs less than a single negotiated buy-back — and infinitely less than the litigation path. In domain disputes, unlike almost anywhere else in IP, prevention is nearly free and cure is genuinely expensive.
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.