Trademark transfer in Nepal, the legal term is assignment, is the change of ownership of a registered mark from one party to another, recorded with the Department of Industry. Under Section 21D of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act, 2022 (1965), the owner may transfer ownership of a trademark in writing, and both parties must then file a joint application with DOI stating the facts and paying the prescribed fee; DOI records the new owner's name in the register. Under the current Citizen Charter, a trademark assignment (नामसारी) costs NPR 2,000, requires the joint application, the underlying agreement or transaction documents and the fee receipt, and carries a seven-day service standard. Transfer is different from licensing: a licence lets someone else use the mark while ownership stays with you.
Trademark Transfer in Nepal: Quick Answers
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Question |
Short answer |
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Can a trademark be transferred in Nepal? |
Yes. Section 21D of the Act allows the owner to transfer ownership in writing, with recordal at DOI. |
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How is it done? |
Both parties file a joint application stating the facts, with the agreement or transaction documents and the fee (Act Section 21D(2); Citizen Charter). |
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What does it cost? |
NPR 2,000 for a trademark assignment (नामसारी); NPR 1,000 for a record amendment; seven-day service standard (current Citizen Charter). |
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What documents are needed? |
Joint application, the agreement letter or transaction documents, and the fee receipt; amendments need the supporting particulars. |
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Assignment vs licence? |
Assignment moves ownership; a licence (use approval) only permits use. The Guideline defines licensing as a written agreement letting another business use the mark while ownership stays put. |
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Does buying a business include its trademark? |
Not automatically — a private agreement can document the transfer between the parties, but the change should be recorded with DOI so the new owner appears in the official register. |
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Can foreign owners transfer Nepalese marks? |
Yes; the transfer is recorded at DOI like any other, normally through a local representative. |
Assignment vs Licensing: Pick the Right Instrument
Section 21D covers two distinct transactions, and mixing them up causes real problems:
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Assignment — ownership of the mark moves permanently from assignor to assignee. Use it for business sales, mergers, restructuring and ownership changes. Once recorded, the assignee is the registered owner, with the renewal and enforcement rights that follow.
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Licensing (use approval) — the owner grants another business written permission to use the mark; ownership does not move. DOI's Trademark Guideline defines licensing as exactly that: a written agreement, on mutual consent, letting another business or organization use the trademark. Licensed use is recorded with DOI, and the Guideline provides a prescribed application format for it (its Schedule 13).
If money or control changes hands permanently, it is an assignment. If the other party is using your mark with your permission under agreed terms, it is a licence.
The DOI Process for Assignment
Section 21D sets the skeleton, and the Citizen Charter fills in the paperwork:
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Execute the underlying agreement, a written assignment or the transaction documents (sale agreement, merger documents and the like).
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File the joint application, both transferor and transferee apply together to DOI's Industrial Property Section, stating the facts (Section 21D(2)).
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Attach the documents, per the Citizen Charter: the joint application, the agreement letter or transaction-related documents, and the fee receipt.
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DOI records the transfer, the Department enters the receiving party's name in the register (Section 21D(3)–(4); the register itself is maintained under Section 22). The Charter's service standard for name transfer and record amendment is seven days.
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Receive the updated record, for assignments, the register entry reflects the new owner; where use approval (licensing) is recorded, the Department updates the register-book and certificate and issues a note to the receiving party (Section 21D(5)).
Fees
Per the current Citizen Charter (name transfer and record amendment row):
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Service |
Current government fee |
Service standard |
|---|---|---|
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Trademark assignment (नामसारी) |
NPR 2,000 |
7 days |
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Trademark record amendment (अभिलेख संशोधन) |
NPR 1,000 |
7 days |
For comparison, the same row lists patent assignment at NPR 5,000 and design assignment at NPR 3,000. The reviewed Charter does not list a separate fee for recording a licence (use approval), confirm the current position with DOI when preparing a licensing recordal.
When Transfers Actually Come Up
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Business sales. The classic case, and the one most often fumbled: the sale agreement says "including all intellectual property," but the trademark registry still shows the seller. Until the assignment is executed and recorded at DOI, the buyer is not the registered owner: the register continues to show the previous proprietor, which can create practical problems for renewal, licensing, enforcement and later transactions.
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Mergers and restructuring. Ownership consolidation between group entities still needs a recorded assignment; an internal board resolution is not recordal.
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Brand sales. Owners sometimes sell a mark alone, separate from the business. The same joint-application route applies.
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Foreign owners. A foreign entity holding a Nepalese registration can assign it to another party, domestic or foreign, through the same DOI route, normally handled by a local representative under a power of authority. There is no separate foreign-transfer checklist in the reviewed sources; confirm the document requirements with DOI when the parties include a foreign entity.
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Licence arrangements. Distributors, franchisees and manufacturing partners often operate under a recorded licence rather than an assignment — the right structure where the owner wants to keep the mark.
Keep the Registration Alive Through the Transfer
A transfer does not pause the mark's life: renewal obligations continue on schedule regardless of any pending assignment, and the renewal requirements application, original certificate, business-renewal proof, tax clearance, and the 35-day/six-month fee windows sit with whoever is the registered owner at the time. If you are acquiring a mark, check its renewal status before pricing the deal; the renewal framework is covered in our guide to trademark renewal in Nepal.
Buying a business, restructuring a group, or putting a licence in place? We can help. Company Darta Nepal prepares the assignment or licence documents, files the joint application with DOI, follows the recordal to completion, and checks the mark's registration and renewal status before you commit to the deal. Decisions and recordals rest with DOI — our role is to prepare a complete, correctly documented filing and follow the recordal through DOI. See Trademark & IP Protection services.
A transfer that never gets recorded is a sale the registry does not know about — and the gap only surfaces when it hurts. Company Darta Nepal's Trademark & IP Protection service handles assignment and licence drafting, the DOI joint filing, recordal follow-through and pre-deal registration checks. For the broader lifecycle of a Nepalese mark, start with our trademark registration guide.
