Short note: Trade marks, patents, design

These are forms of industrial property, protected in Nepal by the Patent, Design and Trademark Act 2022 and registered at the Department of Industry.

• Trade mark: a word, name, symbol, logo or sign that identifies the goods or services of one business and distinguishes them from others. The owner gets the exclusive right to use it, and registration is valid for a fixed period (7 years) and can be renewed. Example: the name and logo of a cement brand.
• Patent: an exclusive right given to the inventor of a new, inventive and industrially useful product or process, for a limited period. In return the invention is disclosed to the public. Example: a new method of making a building material. The patent holder can stop others from making, selling or using the invention without permission.
• Design: the shape, pattern, ornament or configuration that gives a product its appearance, such as the shape of a bottle or a tile pattern. It protects appearance, not the function, and is protected for a limited period that can be renewed.

Registration gives the owner the right to sue an infringer and to claim compensation. Copyright (Copyright Act 2059) protects drawings, books and software separately.