Quotation Copyright in Nepal: How Much Can You Legally Quote?
Quotation copyright in Nepal: how far reviewers and educators can go quoting books, songs and films — and where quotation becomes infringement instead.
Every Nepali reviewer, journalist, teacher and YouTuber lives on quotation: the paragraph that proves the critique, the lyric that makes the point, the scene that anchors the review. Copyright law permits this — within limits — and the limits are where most Nepali content gets into trouble.
The rules are about purpose and proportion, and they are workable once stated.
In short
Quotation copyright in Nepal runs on two conditions: purpose and proportion. The Copyright Act, 2059 (2002) allows short quotations of a protected work for criticism, review, reporting and teaching, with honest attribution — but quotation that substitutes for the original, or takes the heart of it, becomes infringement. Attribution satisfies the author's moral rights; it does not licence wholesale taking.
Quotation copyright in Nepal: permitted, with purpose and proportion
Nepali copyright law follows the fair-use family of principles: limited use of a protected work for purposes such as criticism, review, news reporting, teaching and research is permitted without permission. Two conditions decide whether a quotation sits inside the allowance: the purpose (is the quote genuinely serving commentary, education or reporting?) and the proportion (is the taking no more than the purpose requires?).
Neither condition is a formula — no fixed percentage governs — which is why the assessment is always contextual, and why the honest question is: am I quoting to make a point, or quoting to supply the content itself?
Legal references
- Copyright Act, 2059 (2002) — full text (Nepali) — Nepal Law Commission
- Nepal Copyright Registrar's Office — online registration portal — Government of Nepal
Reviews: the strongest case, with a clear ceiling
| Use | Generally permitted? | The condition |
|---|---|---|
| Review quoting short passages of a book | Yes | Passages serve the critique; review stands on its own words |
| Film review with brief scene excerpts | Yes | Excerpts illustrate the commentary, not replace the film |
| News report quoting a statement or article | Yes | Reporting the fact, with source credited |
| Reposting a full article or chapter with credit | No | Substitution, not quotation — credit does not cure it |
| Wholesale song lyrics or a full music track | No | The heart of the work; licence territory |
Attribution: the moral-rights layer
Nepali law recognises moral rights: the author's right to be identified as the creator, and the right to object to treatment of the work that damages their honour or reputation. Quotation therefore carries an attribution duty independent of the length question — name the author and the source, accurately.
Moral rights also cut the other way: quoting fairly does not permit distorting the quote to say what its author did not. Editing a quotation into a misrepresentation is an integrity-rights problem, not just bad journalism.
Where quotation crosses into infringement
Three patterns account for most crossings. First, substitution: the quote is long enough to serve instead of the original — the reposted article, the full chapter summary. Second, the heart of the work: even a short taking that captures what makes the work valuable — the chorus, the punchline, the decisive passage — can infringe. Third, purpose drift: 'review' framing wrapped around content that is really redistribution.
When a taking crosses the line, it is infringement under the Act, with the remedies that follow — and no amount of credit undoes it.
A clearance flow for editors and creators
Test the purpose
Criticism, review, reporting, teaching — name the purpose honestly before quoting anything.
Take the minimum
Quote no more than the point requires; paraphrase where the point survives paraphrase.
Credit precisely
Author, work, source — the attribution that satisfies the moral-rights layer.
Licence what exceeds quotation
Reprints, translations and full-work uses are permissions, not quotations — get the licence in writing.
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This article is general information, not legal advice.