Present status of intellectual property rights in Nepal - Escap

Nepal: Introduction
Area: 147181 square kilometres
Average Length 825 km (East to West)
Average width193 km (North to south))
Geographical Extension:
latitudinal extension: 26°22' N to 30°27' N
longitudinal extension: 80°04' E to 88°12' E
Literacy rate : 65%
Population: approximately 25.34 million (2005)
Economically Active: 58.2%
Currency: Rupees (Rs.)
Physical Divisions:
Mountain Region (15%)
Hilly Region (68%)
Terai Region (17%)
Per Capita Income: US$ 300 (MOF 2005)

Present Status of Intellectual Property Rights In
Nepal
Organizational structure
A. Department of Industry (DOI) , under the Ministry of
Industry, Commerce and Supplies for Industrial
Property Right Protection.
B. Nepal Copyright Registrar’s Office (NCRO), under the
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation for
Copyright and Related Right Protection.

National Laws for IPR protection in
Nepal
A.Industrial Area
Patent Design and Trademark Act,1965 now
upgrading/improving Industrial Property Act
with TRIPS Agreement compatible.
B.Copyright area
Copyright Act, 2002 and Copyright Rules,2004

A. Industrial Area
Major provisions under Patent, Design and Trademark Act
Defines the Patent, Design and Trademark
Application process and necessary documents clearly
mentioned
Provision for examination committee which will be chaired
by the Director General of DOI
Certificate after registration
Written information in case of fail in registration
Publication of registered Patent by DOI
Provision of compensation in violation of act
Punishment up to Rs.0.5 Million in infringement.

Terms of protection (Industrial area)
Registered Patent is valid for seven years and can be
renewed two times of same period.
Registered Trademark is valid for five years and can be
renewed many times of same period.
Registered Design is valid for seven years and can be
renewed two times of same period.
Trademark may be cancelled if not used up to one year.
No protection without registration.
Foreign Patent, Design, Trademark will be registered
without examination if filed with registration certificate of
foreign country.
Ownership transferred as per written agreement/permission

Major Functions and Duties of DOI
Examination of proposal regarding IP registration
Registration of Patent, Design and Trademark
Certification of right owners
Monitor and control of Industrial institutions
Punish and compensate the violator as per semijudiciary
power
Classification of the goods and services for
registration of trademark
Conduct the awareness programme for IP
protection

Number of registration of
Patent, Design and Trademark
Year
Up to
91/92
Up to
2000
Up to
2005/06
Trademark Patent Design
National Foreign National Foreign National Foreign
5,720 2,880 14 18 03 15
4,223 3,817 03 08 04 09
4,195 2,428 08 08 10 22
Total 14,138 9,125 25 34 17 46
Source: Department of Industries

B. Copyright Area
The first Copyright act of Nepal was enacted in 1965
which was revised in 1997
First Copyright Rules 1989.
The old Copyright Act, 1965 was replaced by new
Copyright Act, 2002, amended in 2005
New Copyright Rules, 2004 was enacted under the new
Copyright Act, 2002

Major Provisions under Copyright Act, 2002
All protectable items covered as international instruments.
Department level NCRO established for law administration
Provides automatic protection, minimum period and national
treatment.
Provision of moral and economic rights, registration, and CMO’s
Provision of compensation over infringement.
Up to 6 month imprisonment or up to Rs. 0.1 million or both
penalty over infringement
Infringement cases treated as criminal cases & police officer will
investigate.
District court is responsible for treatment with shortcut process

Terms of Protection
Life long and 50 years after death for literary works.
50 years for Performer, Sound recording, Producer and Broadcaster.
25 years for architect design, Photographic work & applied art.
No compulsory registration for protection.
Work created by an author or producer residing in Nepal or in the
member country of WTO shall enjoy the protection under this act.
Important functions and duties of NCRO
Registration of creation
To certify, monitor and control of the CMO’s
To hear petitions of unsatisfied parties in royalty.
To aware the society
To coordinate GOs and NGOs

Records of the Copyright registration
S.N. Sectors (Discipline) 1965 -2000 Sept, 2004 - Oct, 2006
1 Literature & audiovisual 1150
2 Literature writing 225
3 News magazine (publication) 1
4 Translations 5
5 Art / Paintings 27
6 Sound recordings 32
7 Architecture 2
8 Computer software (Programming) 7
9 Presentation 2
10 Photographic works 13
11 Research paper 3
Total 1150 317
Source: Nepal Copyright Registrar’s Office

Concerned Institutions of IPR
A. Industrial Property Sectors
Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies
Department of Industry
Office of the Company Registrar
Department of Cottage and Small Industries
Cottage and Small Industries Development Board
Research Center for Applied Science and Technology
Nepal Academy of Science and Technology
Nepal Agriculture Research Center
District administration Office,
FNCCI and FCSI

B. Copyright Related Sectors
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
Nepal Copyright Registrar’s Office
District Police Office
Customs Offices
District Attorney Office
District Courts
Informal Collecting Societies

Problems/ Issues of Intellectual Property Rights
Negligence of law enforcement that trained people in the
wrong way.
People are not aware about Industrial Right and Copyright
People are attracted to the pirated goods which are cheap.
Pirated goods are imported from the other country.
People don’t like to deal with police so they do not protest &
appeal against pirated goods sellers.
NCRO has no authority to punish over the infringement of
rights
Lack of formal educational and training institutions for the
study of IP.
It is hard to change the concept of people regarding IP.

Suggestion for the protection of IP
NCRO must be provided with some legal rights regarding
punishment over infringement
Public awareness programmes through electronic media
must be increased concerning the violation of IP Acts
International Institutions must support to establish IP
Training Institute in Nepal for the protection of IP
IP related matters must be included in the curriculum of
formal educational and training institutions
More efforts are needed to replace habitual thinking of
the public on IP issues, and adapt a new concept on the
importance of IP protection