Trademark Restoration in Nepal: What Is (and Is Not) Possible After Expiry
Is trademark restoration possible in Nepal? No revival exists after the grace period — the timeline, the recovery playbook, and the habit that replaces it.
The call comes a few weeks too late every year: the renewal window passed, the grace period passed, and someone is asking whether the trademark can be 'restored'. The honest answer in Nepal is short.
There is no restoration procedure. What happens after grace is automatic cancellation — and what happens next depends entirely on whether anyone else has moved on the name.
In short
Trademark restoration, in the sense of reviving a lapsed registration, does not exist in Nepal: once the 35-day renewal window and the 6-month grace period (NPR 4,500 including the NPR 1,000 fine) both lapse, the registration is cancelled automatically with no revival route. What remains is a recovery playbook, not a restoration: verify the dates were calculated correctly in both calendars, search the register to see whether anyone has filed for the name, refile fast if it is clear, and oppose a squatter's fresh application within its 90-day publication window. The habit that replaces all of it: early renewal, accepted practice at the DOI.
Is trademark restoration possible in Nepal? The direct answer
No. The Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act's renewal mechanics end in automatic cancellation: a registration not renewed within 35 days of expiry can still be renewed during a 6-month grace period on payment of the NPR 1,000 fine, but once grace lapses the registration dies without a hearing and without a revival procedure.
The design is deliberate — the system's deadlines are few and loudly defined precisely so that the register stays current. The absence of restoration is the enforcement mechanism.
The end-of-life timeline, and what each stage still allows
One comfort inside the timeline: renewal filed during grace is fully valid — the mark's rights are treated as never having lapsed, so no gap needs explaining to licensees or courts.
| Stage | Deadline | What is still possible |
|---|---|---|
| Term running | 7 years from registration | Everything — renewal can be filed before the anniversary (accepted practice) |
| Normal window | Expiry + 35 days | Renewal at NPR 3,500 per class, no fine |
| Grace period | Expiry + 6 calendar months | Renewal with the NPR 1,000 fine (NPR 4,500) — rights never lapsed during grace |
| After grace | Automatic cancellation | No restoration procedure exists — the registration is dead |
| The ghost | Any time after | Anyone may apply for the name; the mark is simply available |
Why no restoration route exists — and how the neighbours differ
The contrast across rights is instructive. A lapsed patent is unrecoverable in substance as well as form — the specification published at grant is prior art against its own refiling. A lapsed design can sometimes be refiled if the look is still genuinely new to the register, though that is a loophole, not a plan.
The trademark sits between: the name survives the registration, which means the race for it restarts. That is simultaneously the bad news (a competitor can take it) and the recovery path (so can you — if you are first).
The recovery playbook when a mark has lapsed
Verify the lapse before believing it
A surprising share of 'lapsed' marks are BS/AD conversion errors — the windows were calculated from a mis-converted date. Recheck expiry, the 35-day window and the grace deadline in both calendars.
Search the register for the name
Check exact, phonetic and transliterated forms for fresh filings by anyone else. In a first-to-file system, whoever filed after your cancellation holds the position you want.
Refile fast if the name is clear
A fresh Schedule 1(c) application (NPR 1,000 per class) rebuilds the position — subject to the examination and publication journey like any new mark.
Oppose a squatter who moved first
If someone else has filed your name, their application publishes in the Bulletin and a roughly 90-day opposition window opens. Grounds exist — but the cheapest defence was always the calendar.
The habit that makes restoration unnecessary
Every element of the playbook is harder, slower and more uncertain than the alternative: renew early. Filing before the anniversary is accepted practice at the DOI and converts a deadline problem into a calendar entry — no fine, no window arithmetic, no race.
The supporting habits are unglamorous and decisive: one renewal calendar for the whole portfolio (classes renew separately), both calendars recorded, and an annual check that the register entry — owner name, address, agent — still matches reality.
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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.